MRVC Uses Vertical Drain Tech for Virar-Dahanu Road Railway Quadrupling

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has adopted a specialized ground-improvement engineering technique at Wadhiv Island and surrounding marshy stretches to tackle compressible black cotton soil along the ₹3,578-crore Virar-Dahanu Road quadrupling project.

The presence of black cotton soil, extending three to four metres below the existing ground surface, presents a major challenge for constructing new railway tracks in the area. Because the soil holds large volumes of water, natural consolidation and settlement under heavy railway structures can take several years. To prevent track deformation and speed up construction, MRVC is implementing the Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) method.

Under the PVD technique, thin vertical drains made of polypropylene and covered with a geotextile filter are inserted into the ground using hydraulic machinery. Placed at intervals ranging between 0.5 metres and 1.5 metres, these drains provide an easy path for trapped water to escape. The technology accelerates soil consolidation, bringing the time required to achieve around 90% ground settlement down from several years to under six months.

The method follows earthwork guidelines established by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation under RDSO/2020/GE:IRS-004. According to MRVC officials, faster ground consolidation will speed up construction, reduce future track maintenance requirements, and improve safety once trains begin operating.

The ground improvement work forms part of the Virar-Dahanu Road quadrupling project under MUTP-III, which has achieved 64% physical progress as of July 2026. The overall project aims to add two additional railway lines to the existing corridor.

Across the project, about 30.35 lakh cubic metres of earthwork, 2.48 lakh cubic metres of blanketing, and 34.7 kilometres of drainage works have been completed. Completed infrastructure along the line includes four road underbridges, one road overbridge, 13 major bridges, and 54 minor bridges.

Major foundation and superstructure works are also progressing at Important Bridge 92 and Bridge 93. At Bridge 92, all 576 piles, 68 pile caps, 68 piers, 264 girders, and 132 deck slabs have been finished, while 476 piles have been completed at Bridge 93. Meanwhile, platforms 3A and 4A at Virar station have been widened from 6.5 metres to 10 metres and extended by 60 metres, enabling the start of 15-car suburban EMU services between Virar and Dahanu Road.