The Arabian Sea, tides, winds, clouds, fishing net and the waves in rivers have inspired the designs of the four stations of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) in Maharashtra, famous as the Bullet Train project.
Last week, News18 visited the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) site in Mumbai, where the only underground station of the Bullet Train will come up. For BKC, the inspiration is clouds and the crashing tides of Arabian Sea with diamond-like dots, as the station will come up next to Bharat Diamond Bourse – world’s largest diamond bourse.
Speaking to News18, Sushma Gaur, Additional General Manager, Public Relations, National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), said the facade of every station is thematic, considering the culture around it. “We have considered the components and elements around that station while designing them,” she said.
For Thane station, she added that as it is close to Ulhas River, the roof and entrance building will create an impression of waves.
“It is a very peculiar station. The entrance of the station is a little away from the platform as there were mangroves. So the complete station can’t be built at one location. While coming towards the station, the passengers will see the front side of the station that will be in the form of wave. The foramen is planned like that,” she explained.
Further, Virar is situated on the mountains and everything is planned like that. Virar station is located on a hill and hence it will depict the winds from the mountain, while Boisar, the last station of the project in Maharashtra, is a part of the coastal region inhabited by ‘Konkanis’, whose prime occupation is fishing. The station façade is an abstract depiction of fishing nets used by these fishermen, she added.
Under the project, there will be four stations in Maharashtra — Mumbai (BKC), Thane, Virar and Boisar — and eight in Gujarat — Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand/Nadiad, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
Among these stations, only BKC will have an underground station planned at a depth of about 24 meters from the ground level. It will have three floors – platform, concourse and service floor. The station will have two entry/exit points, with one of these facilitating the access to the nearby Metro station of Metro line 2B. Situated in the heart of the city’s prominent upscale commercial hub, the station will aid people coming to Mumbai daily for work from Thane or Virar.
SIMILAR DESIGNS PLANNED FOR GUJARAT TOO
While the designs for the stations in Gujarat are yet to be revealed, the proposed structure at Sabarmati station will see solar panels on the roof of the station with a “charkha”. The solar panels on the side of the building will have the iconic symbol of the Salt March by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers in 1930.
The total length of the corridor is 508 km – 156 km in Maharashtra, four km in Dadra Nagar Haveli and 384 km in Gujarat. The maximum operational speed will be 320 kmph and the total time taken for the trip will be 2.58 hours. There will be three depots, one in Maharashtra in Thane and other two in Gujarat in Surat and Sabarmati. The Operational Control Centre will be at Sabarmati.
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