First underground station for Mumbai-Ahmedabad train to come up at BKC

If all goes according to plan, a state-of-the-art station for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will come up at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in the next five years. To be constructed at the whopping cost of Rs 3,681 crore and sprawling 4.85 hectare, the facility will be India's first underground station for bullet train. It will also be the lone underground station on the route of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train.

“The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) signed an agreement on Monday for the work related to the design and construction of the underground High-Speed Rail Station (at the BKC) with M/s MEIL-HCC Joint Venture (comprising of M/s Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd and M/s Hindustan Construction Company Ltd),” said NHSRCL spokesperson Sushma Gaur. This is the first contract awarded for the station on the bullet train stretch passing through Maharashtra. As per the agreement, the station will be ready in 54 months from the date of work commencement. It further has the clause of tunnelling into 467 meter length through cut and cover length method and construction of a 66-meter-deep ventilation shaft, which will also be used for taking out tunnel boring machine.

The station will have six platforms

According to the NHSRCL officials, the station will have six platforms and length of each platform will be approx 415 meter (sufficient to accommodate a 16 coach bullet train). For further convenience of passengers, the station will have connectivity with Metro and road. “The platform is planned at a depth of about 24 meter from the ground level. There will be three floors, including platform, concourse, and service floor. Two entry/exit points are planned; one to facilitate the access to nearby Metro Line 2B and the other towards the MTNL building,” said an official of NHSRCL.

The station has been planned in a way that ample space is available for passenger movement as well as amenities at the concourse and platform levels. Besides provision for natural lighting, other amenities include business class lounge, nursery, rest rooms, etc.