A 30-metre section of the truss — a framework of rafters and posts on which the tracks will be laid — for Navi Mumbai Metro Line 1 will be fixed between two piers during a two-hour megablock on Central Railway (CR) in the early hours of Friday.
Part by part
The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) had applied for a three-hour megablock. On Wednesday, the CR approved a block from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday. The truss is currently on a temporary framework, and CIDCO is shifting it part by part and fixing it between the piers.
Of the 130-metre truss that will come up across the Panvel-Diva railway line at Taloja, 57 metre was put in place in a seven-hour block on Sunday. Friday’s work will take this to 87 metre, and installing the rest will require at least three more megablocks of two hours each, a CIDCO official said.
The 1,400-tonne steel truss, which will connect two piers over the tracks, is said to be the longest truss used for a Metro line in the country, as per CIDCO. “The truss will cross over six tracks. After the 87 metre truss is shifted, we can further decide on the number of megablocks that we will need to finish the work. CR has approved more five blocks,” CIDCO superintendent engineer Sanjay Nadgauda said.
This truss will connect Amandoot and Taloja, the ninth and tenth of the 11 stations planned between Belapur and Pendhar as part of the 11.1-km first phase of Metro Line 1.
The piers are diagonally placed at a distance of 100 metres across the tracks, instead of the usual 30-metre gap between piers placed opposite each other, which is why a truss was designed for the project.
A CIDCO official said it took close to two years to get design approval and permission to start the installation work from CR.
Haryana to Navi Mumbai
The truss was fabricated in Haryana and transported to Navi Mumbai in segments. “It was then assembled at a height of 15 metres in a nearby area and is now being shifted between the piers,” Mr. Nadgauda said. It has been put up on 80 trestles, and will be shifted and installed using a winch and pulley. “Cranes cannot be used for this work,” Mr. Nadgauda said.
“The truss extends to a height of 12.5 metres. The tracks will be laid on it, at a height of 15 metres from the ground,” he said.
