L&T Wins Mumbai – Ahmedabad Bullet Train’s T1 Track Contract

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday was declared as the lowest bidder for track work package T-1 of 508.17 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR Bullet Train) project.

Package T-1 by India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL) in Maharashtra is the third and final track installation related package of India’s first high speed rail line which will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad through 12 stations at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.1 lakh crore (US $15 billion).

T-1’s scope corresponds to track work at 1.028 km Package C-1 (underground BKC Station under construction by MEIL – HCC JV), 20.377 km Package C-2 (underground tunnel by Afcons Infrastructure) and 135.45 km Package C-3 (elevated viaduct & 3 stations by Larsen & Toubro).

NHSRCL had invited bids for this contract in October 2024 with a 2157 days (5.9 years) deadline and an unknown estimate. Technical bids were opened in May to reveal three bidders. Among them, the bid submitted by KEC International – Rahee JV was found non-compliant and subsequently disqualified.

Financial Results

Note: INR total amount is mine and approximate according to today’s conversion rate. Value displayed in parenthesis is actual submitted bid value.

Firm	Bid
Larsen & Toubro	4571.37 cr (Rs. 1685.37 cr + JPY 44.75 bn + USD 28.34 mn)
DRA Infracon – DMRC JV	4776.05 cr (Rs. 2789.47 cr + JPY 33.63 bn)

IFB Number: Package No. MAHSR – T-1

Brief Scope: Design, Supply and Construction of Track Works including Testing and Commissioning on Design-Build Lump Sum Price basis for Double Line High Speed Railway between Mumbai Stn. at Bandra-Kurla complex (MAHSR Km. -0.255) and Zaroli Village (Km.156.600)

NHSRCL’s estimate remains unknown to me, so we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out. If awarded, which I’m sure it will be in the interest of time, then this will be L&T’s 9th major win after civil packages C3, C4, C5, C6, D2 and system packages EW-1, P4 (X & Y) and T3.

As shared earlier, a special slab track system is being utilized for the Bullet Train project instead of a conventional ballasted track system found in main-line railway lines. NHSRCL has a dedicated page for this with information on its economics and dynamics.

L&T in October 2023 had opened their specialized High-Speed Rail Track Slab Manufacturing Facility (TSMF) in Anand, Gujarat. Here’s a cool infographic shared by NHSRCL in the past showing different components of the Japanese J-Slab track system.

Here’s the scope and status of the Mumbai – Ahmedabad Bullet Train’s 3 track-work packages:

Package	Status
T-1 (Maharashtra): Design, Supply & Construction of Track & Track related works between HSR station at BKC/ Mumbai and Zaroli Village on MH/GJ border (156.855 km)	L&T is lowest bidder (this post!)
T-2 (Gujarat): Design, Supply & Construction of Track and Track related works between Zaroli Village and Vadodara (237.10 km)	Installation underway by IRCON International
T-3 (Gujarat): Design, Supply & Construction of Track and Track related works between Vadodara and Sabarmati Depot and workshops (114.60 km)	Installation underway by Larsen & Toubro

A list of all bullet train civil and system packages and their status can be viewed here.

For more updates, check out the High Speed Rail section or my Home Page! Sign up for free instant email notifications on new posts over here. Like this post? Get early-access to updates and support the site over here.

– TMRG