Bullet Train project to have 28 Seismometers for ‘Early Earthquake Detection System’

Ahmedabad: Twenty-eight (28) seismometers will be installed for the Bullet Train project (Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor) to ensure the safety of passengers and critical infrastructure during earthquakes.

This Early Earthquake Detection System, based on Japanese Shinkansen technology, will detect earthquake-induced tremors through primary waves and enable an automatic power shutdown. Emergency brakes will be activated when the power shutdown is detected and the trains running in the affected area shall stop.

Out of the 28 seismometers, 22 will be installed along the alignment. Eight will be in Maharashtra—Mumbai, Thane, Virar, and Boisar—and fourteen will be in Gujarat—Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Mahembadad, and Ahmedabad. Seismometers will be installed in Traction Sub-Stations and Switching Posts along the alignment.

The remaining six seismometers (termed as inland seismometers) will be installed in earthquake-prone areas—Khed, Ratnagiri, Latur, and Pangri in Maharashtra, and Adesar and Old Bhuj in Gujarat. The areas near the MAHSR alignment, where earthquakes greater than 5.5 magnitudes have occurred in the past 100 years, were surveyed by Japanese experts. After a detailed survey and soil suitability study through a micro tremor test, the above sites were selected. Deshgujarat