The first traction substation for India's Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is nearing completion at Bilimora in Gujarat's Navsari district, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has said, in an update reported by IANS. The substation is the first of 14 being built to supply uninterrupted power along the 508-kilometre high-speed rail corridor.

Spread over approximately 18,000 square metres, the Bilimora substation is at an advanced stage, with equipment installation, testing and commissioning activities under way. According to NHSRCL, installation work inside the control panel, changeover switch, transformer and circuit breaker buildings has been completed, and work on all gantry towers and beams has also been finished. What remains is the final equipment work, testing and commissioning before the substation can start functioning.

How the power network will work

The 14 traction substations will receive electricity from the main grid, convert it to the required voltage and feed it into the traction power system that runs the trains. Power will be supplied to the overhead equipment (OHE) along the viaduct through a 2 × 25 kV traction power supply system, and the entire traction network will be monitored in real time from a centralised control centre, IANS reported.

Five of the substations will be in Maharashtra — at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar and the Thane Depot — while nine will be in Gujarat, at Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Mahemdavad, Ahmedabad and the Sabarmati Depot. In Gujarat, the substations will draw electricity from the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited's (GETCO) 220 kV Ambetha Grid Substation.

The 508-kilometre Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor is India's first bullet train project, connecting Maharashtra and Gujarat. Completing the power backbone is a necessary step before trains can run, because the high-speed services draw their electricity entirely from the overhead equipment the substations feed.

Source: IANS via HiIndia