PUNE: The Central Railway is working 24x7 to complete the railway bridge which was damaged on October 3 after a landslide in the Bhor Ghat section between Pune and Mumbai railway line, said Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Shivaji Sutar on Tuesday.
A media visit was organised by the railways to give details of the ongoing work. Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Infrastructure) Ashutosh Gupta and other senior officers were present. On October 3, a major landslide occurred near the spot connecting Monkey Hill and Nagnath station resulting in disruption of traffic between Pune and Mumbai.
Several trains were cancelled while some were short-terminated from the Pune railway station. The work of rebuilding the 250-metre stretch between two tunnels is going 24x7. However, officials are expecting the work to be completed by January 15, 2020.
“Non-stop work since October 3 will continue till the completion of the bridge. Construction material, labour and others related to the work are brought by trains from Lonavla. There is no approach road to this site which is prone to risks. When we came to know that 15-metre construction of the bridge was washed out due to incessant rain, we stopped all railway operations between Pune and Mumbai. After inspection, a few train services resumed on the middle and third lines. The construction of the bridge is going on the Up line,” said Sutar.
“The bridge of the Up railway line from Pune to Mumbai starts 150 metres ahead of the tunnel. After the rain, the 30-metre approach of the embankment gradually settled down by four metres on the Lonavla side. There is a high hill on one side and a deep valley on the other side. In the rain, the gushing water came on the track and washed out the mud,” said Ashutosh Gupta.
After stopping all railway movement, the consulted experts from IIT Bombay and senior officials reached the spot to find a permanent solution. “We are launching two steel girders - one is 20 metre and another is 25 metre at this spot. We constructed the 25-metre gabion wall and then micro piling work was done. The construction of two pillars in the downside of the affected part and finally, abutment work will be done,” said the CPRO.
“We have brought around 350 truckloads of rock, 150 truckloads of quarry dust, 70 truckloads of concrete, 80-tonne reinforcement. The weight of our girder is around 100 tonnes. This girder will be brought in parts and then assembled here at the spot,” said Ashutosh Gupta.
RESTORATION WORK ON WAR FOOTING
- Restoration work of Up line in south-east ghat on a war footing
- Bridge Location: Up line at km 117 between Monkey Hill and Nagnath
- Bridge status is sound and the bridge consists of 06 span of 24.4 metres each, plate girder in superstructure and
- Cement Concrete (CC) in the substructure.
- Due to heavy rain, the 30-metre approach of embankment had gradually settled.
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENTS IN USE
- Construction of pier, abutments, micro piling, fabrication and launching of girder work.
- Approximately 40 workers at any given time working 24x7 with lighting arrangement.
- Concrete mixer, piling equipment, crane, JCB, etc.
- Material carried by rail on the material train.
- 2 span of (girder) weighing 100 tonnes to be brought to the site for which pier is being constructed.
- Boulders of 1,100 cubic metres equivalent to 350 trucks.
- Quarry dust of 350 cubic metres equivalent to 100 trucks.
- Concrete of 400 cubic metres equivalent to 55 RMC trucks.
- Steel 80 tonne.
- Micro piling 580 numbers.
