Aerial Survey Underway For Mumbai-Nagpur Bullet Train Corridor

Commencing work for the preparation of detailed project reports for seven new high-speed rail corridors, the Light Detection and Ranging survey has begun for the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur High Speed Rail Corridor.

The ambitious project envisages passengers travelling at a speed of over 300 km per hour between Mumbai and Nagpur linking cities like Shahapur, Igatpuri, Nashik, Mehkar, Malegaon, Pulgaon, Wardha and Khapri.

An aeroplane fitted with state-of-the-art aerial LiDAR and Imagery sensors took the first flight and captured the data related to ground position as the survey work began for the 736-km long Mumbai-Nagpur rail corridor.

Entrusted with the survey, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, is using the LiDAR technology to collect data in 3-4 months against the usual 10-12 months.

In LiDar survey, an aeroplane fitted with an aerial detection system and imagery sensors captures the data on ground zero.

Moving ahead with the dream project, the NHSRCL has started in right earnest the aerial survey on the 736-km-long Mumbai-Nagpur route collecting relevant data in a faster way.

In order to provide clear pictures of the structures, trees and other minute ground details, 100 megapixel cameras are being used for the LiDAR survey.

In his written reply to the Lok Sabha recently, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had said that none of these corridors is sanctioned as yet.

"The decision on sanctioning any high speed rail project depends on the outcome of detailed project report, techno-economic feasibility, availability of resources and financing options," Goyal said adding that the preparation of detailed project reports is still in progress and the route or alignment for the corridors has not yet been finalised.

The proposed seven corridors include Delhi-Noida-Agra-Kanpur-Lucknow-Varanasi, Delhii-Jaipur-Udaipur-Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Nasik-Nagpur, Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad, Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore, Delhi-Chandigarh-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Amritsar, Varanasi-Patna-Howrah.

As far as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is concerned, the aerial LiDAR survey to capture data for the high speed rail corridor has already begun.

This study will help lay the groundwork design for India’s first high-speed rail line in the country.

The ground survey is a crucial activity for any linear infrastructure project as the survey provides accurate details of areas around the alignment. This technique uses a combination of Laser data, GPS data, flight parameters and actual photographs to give accurate survey data.

During the Aerial LiDAR survey, 150 metres of area around the proposed alignment is being captured for the survey. After the collection of data, Three Dimensional (3D) Topographical map of corridor of the proposed alignment on a scale of 1:2500 will be available for designing of the vertical and horizontal alignment, structures, location of the stations and depots, land requirement for the corridor, identification of project affected plots and right of way.