NHSRCL Reinvites Bids for Mumbai – Ahmedabad HSR’s C2 Package
India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL) in October-end re-invited bids to construct the 20.377 km Package C-2 of the 508.17 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR Bullet Train) project.
Package C2 of the main-line between chainage Km 0.773 (Bandra Kurla Complex Station’s east-end) and Km 21.150 (Shilphata) will be entirely underground and consist of roughly 3 km “undersea” twin tunnels below Thane Creek. The appointed contractor will be required to use at least 3 Mega TBMs with a diameter of roughly 14.5 meters.
NHSRCL had originally invited bids for this package in 2019 with a clause requiring a Japanese contractor to be the prime / lead partner in case of a joint-venture. That round received zero bids. This time around, that clause has been done away with. NHSRCL’s estimate is unknown and will be added when available.
IFB Number: Package No. MAHSR-C-2
Brief Scope: Construction of Tunnelling Works including Testing and Commissioning for Double Line High Speed Railway using (TBM) and (NATM) between Mumbai Underground Station at Bandra-Kurla Complex (MAHSR Km. 0.773) and Shilphata (MAHSR Km. 21.150).
- Completion Period: 1888 days (5.17 years)
- Pre-bid Meeting: 16-Dec-2021 at 11:00 AM
- Date & Time of Submission of Tender: 02-Mar-2022 at 03:00 PM
- Date & Time of Opening of Tender: 03-Mar-2022 at 03:00 PM
If things go according to the scheduled timeline (unlikely in my opinion), then preliminary construction work for this package will start towards the end of 2022, actual construction work in 2023 and tunneling work in 2024.
With this development, tender notices 1 more package (C3) in Maharashtra is pending. Land acquisition progress in Maharashtra and currently stands at roughly 35%, so I reckon it’ll be a while before a notice for that is out.
Here’s a status of each civil package of the bullet train project. This table is best viewed on a desktop device.
| Package & Scope | Status |
| C1: 1.028 km Underground Station at BKC, Mumbai | Bids Invited in November 2019; Current Opening Date: Dec 7, 2021 |
| C2: 20.377 km underground tunnel between BKC Station to Shilphata, Thane | Bids Reinvited (this post!) |
| 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 | 3 bids received |
| 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 | IRCON – DRA JV is lowest bidder |
| C8: 2.126 km viaduct, building works at Sabarmati Depot | SCC – VRS JV is lowest bidder |
A list of all bullet train civil packages and their status can be viewed here.
For more updates, check out the High Speed Rail section or my Home Page!
– TMRG
5 years? Isn’t that too many for a 20 kilometre line?
I think that’s fine for end to end civil work. If NHSRCL wants a shorter timeframe (which is possible), then the bid values will not match with what’s estimated in the project’s budget.