The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has signed a contract with the DINESHCHANDRA-DMRC joint venture (JV) to design and build the Thane Rolling Stock Depot in India’s Maharashtra state.  

The agreement was signed in the presence of NHSRCL managing director Vivek Kumar Gupta, alongside directors, senior officers, and representatives from various Japanese agencies and the Embassy of Japan in India. 

The NHSRCL issued a letter of acceptance for the design and construction of the project last month.  

Thane depot, spanning 55ha, is a part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Corridor, also known as the Bullet Train Project. 

It will be supported by three rolling stock depots, with the other two located in Sabarmati and Surat in Gujarat.  

The design of these depots is said to draw on the experience of existing Shinkansen depots in Japan. 

The scope of the Thane depot project comprises civil works, inspection sheds, a maintenance depot, and the installation, testing, and commissioning of maintenance facilities.  

Initially, four inspection lines and ten stabling lines will be constructed, with plans to expand to eight and 31 lines, respectively, in the future. 

The depot will have approximately 200 units of 40 different types of machinery, procured from Japan, to maintain the high-speed train sets according to Shinkansen standards.  

These include a bogie exchange machine, an underfloor wheel reprofiling machine, testers, data readers, ultrasonic flaw detectors, and a trainset washing plant. 

In March last year, the NHSRCL awarded a $446.9m order to a JV of India-based Hindustan Construction Company and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures. 

As per the agreement, the pair will oversee the construction of the Bandra Kurla Complex station in Mumbai.