6 Bidders for Mumbai – Ahmedabad HSR’s Package C7

6 firms / consortia have submitted bids to construct the 18.133 km Package C-7 of the 508.17 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR Bullet Train) after the National National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL) opened technical bids today.

Package C-7 from chainage 489.467 to 507.600 is the third longest package within Gujarat state, and lies entirely within the Ahmedabad metropolitan region with 2 elevated stations at Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.

NHSRCL had invited bids for its construction in October 2020 with a completion period / deadline of 1643 days (4.5 years). Their estimate is unknown. I’ll add it in here when I become aware.

Bidders:

• Afcons Infrastructure
• Dilip Buildcon – Ranjit Buildcon – SAM India JV
• GR Infraprojects – Sadbhav Engineering JV
• Ircon – Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon JV
• Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
• NCC – Tata Projects – J Kumar JV

IFB Number: Package No. MAHSR-C-7

Brief Scope: Design and Construction of Civil and Building Works including Testing and Commissioning on Design Build Lump Sum Price Basis for Double Line High Speed Railway involving Ahmedabad Station, Sabarmati Station, Viaduct & Bridges, Crossing Bridges (excluding fabrication and transportation of steel truss girders) and Associated works between MAHSR Km. 489.467 and MAHSR Km. 507.599 in the State of Gujarat for the Project for Construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail

The bids have now been sent for technical evaluation which – going by C4 and C6’s experience – could take just a month to complete. When that is done, the financial bids of the technically qualified bidders will be opened to reveal who’s the lowest bidder and most likely contractor for this package.

Ahmedabad Station

Information on Ahmedabad Station shared by NHSRCL in 2020:

Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail will traverse through Western Railway’s Ahmedabad Junction Railway Station and shall be integrated with Saraspur side of the existing Ahmedabad station. Ahmedabad HSR station will be built over the existing railway platform no. 11 & 12.

To ensure seamless integration of the HSR station with other modes of rail transport, NHSRCL has designed a user-friendly station layout for Ahmedabad. An integrated Building for passenger transit is planned on east side of the existing railway station, where Passengers will be able to swiftly switch from one mode to another. This building will be equipped with escalators and elevators and will house many passenger convenience facilities like Booking office, Passenger lobby, tea/coffee kiosks and other amenities etc.

The integrated building shall provide connections to Western Railway existing foot over Bridges to facilitate passenger movement to & fro IR Platforms and underground metro station on Saraspur side.

The construction of HSR station over existing railway lines will be quite challenging. Along the railway tracks there are multiple utilities like platform sheds, offices, signalling and telecom cables, pipelines, electrical cables, tracks etc, which are being shifted before the commencement of the construction activities. The functional offices of Ahmedabad railway station have already been relocated. Carrying out construction activities of HSR station alongside ongoing Ahmedabad Mega metro construction, moving man & machinery over existing railway lines without disrupting passenger & cargo traffic at Ahmedabad Railway Station will also be challenging.

Sabarmati Station

Information on Sabarmati Station shared by NHSRCL:

Sabarmati being the terminal station of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor, NHSRCL has planned to develop it as a vibrant Multimodal Transport Hub in the region. To achieve seamless integration of various transport modes around the HSR station, a multi-modal transit terminal has been planned on the East side of Sabarmati HSR station which shall ensure smooth traffic flow in the influence area of HSR station. The Multi Modal Integration schemes focus on integration of existing and planned transit facilities in the station area. The available Right of Way (RoW) along existing road network has been optimally utilized for planning the inflow/outflow of estimated traffic in horizon years.

Sabarmati Station’s terminal building is currently under construction by BL Kashyap & Sons through a Rs. 332 crore contract awarded in August 2018 – view old satellite imagery and its design here.

With today’s development – here’s a status of each civil package of the bullet train project. This table is best viewed on a desktop device. Within Gujarat – only Package C5’s tender notice, for the main-line’s construction within Vadodara, is pending. That section recently went through a redesign.

Package & Scope	Status
C1: 1.028 km Underground Station at BKC, Mumbai	Bids Invited in November 2019; Current Submission Deadline: May 5, 2021
C2: 20.377 km underground tunnel between BKC Station to Shilphata, Thane (3 Mega TBMs to be used)	Bid Submission Deadline Passed – No Bids Received
C3: 135.450 km elevated line between Shilphata, Thane and Zaroli Village (MH/GJ Border)	Tender Notice Pending
C4: 237.1 km elevated line between Zaroli Village (MH/GJ Border) and Vadodara	Under Construction by Larsen & Toubro
C5: 8.198 km elevated viaduct and station within Vadodara	Tender Notice Pending
C6: 87.569 km elevated viaduct between Vadodara and Ahmedabad	Under Construction by Larsen & Toubro
C7: 18.133 km elevated viaduct and station within Ahmedabad	Technical bids opened (this post!)
C8: 2.126 km viaduct, building works at Sabarmati Depot	9 Bids Received in February

For more updates, check out my Home Page!

– TMRG