Gas pipeline routes
Pipeline Route Survey and Utility Mapping for GAIL
From cross-country steel lines to yellow MDPE pipe in city lanes, a gas route has to clear every service it meets.
Quick AnswerA pipeline route survey maps the cables, pipes and ducts on a planned gas pipeline alignment before trenching or drilling. For trunk lines it focuses on road, rail and canal crossings; for city gas networks it scans every street for water, power and telecom services. Rates are ₹24 per metre standard and ₹32 for L-sections; see our city gas distribution projects.
What is a pipeline route survey for gas projects?
A pipeline route survey for gas projects locates every buried service along a planned pipeline alignment and records its depth. Designers use it to set the pipe's position and cover, and contractors use it to plan trenching and HDD crossings. Safety teams use it to keep the required separation from other utilities. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is the core tool: its radar pulses travel down, and each buried object along the alignment sends back a return signal with its depth.
Gas work in India runs at two scales. GAIL (India) Limited, a public sector company under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, operates the largest network of natural gas trunk pipelines. These include the Hazira–Vijaipur–Jagdishpur line and the newer Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga pipeline in the east. Downstream, city gas distribution companies, authorised area by area by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, lay steel and polyethylene networks under city streets. The survey differs between the two.
What do we find along a cross-country trunk line?
Mostly crossings: highways, railway lines, canals, drains and other pipelines. Cross-country routes run through farmland where the right of user in land is acquired under the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines Act of 1962. Between crossings, the ground is often clear. At each crossing, it is not.
- Highway and expressway crossings, with telecom ducts and power cables in the road verge.
- Railway crossings, with signalling cable in the cess.
- Canal and distributary crossings, often bored well below the bed.
- Existing pipelines in shared corridors, which need careful separation.
- Optic fibre laid alongside existing pipelines for their control and monitoring systems.
That last item catches people out. Many pipelines carry a fibre cable in the same corridor, found with the same method as any telecom route. There is more on OFC route GPR survey on our service page. You can also read about telecom operator projects where fibre is the main asset.
How is a city gas street survey different?
It is denser, shallower and much closer to people's homes. City gas networks use steel pipe for the higher-pressure mains and yellow MDPE pipe for distribution and service lines. Both go under streets already packed with services. In Delhi, for example, Indraprastha Gas Limited's network shares the road with water, sewer, power and telecom lines laid over decades.
A city gas survey therefore scans every street on the plan, not only the crossings. We record:
- water mains and house water pipes, the most common clash;
- LT and HT power cables, which need separation from the gas pipe;
- telecom ducts from several operators;
- sewer lines and storm drains, which often set the depth;
- chambers and valve pits of every kind.
The regulator's technical and safety standards for city gas networks set the separation and cover the design must meet; the survey gives the designer the information to meet them.
Gas pipeline route survey at a glance
| Point | Trunk pipeline | City gas network |
|---|---|---|
| Where we scan | Crossings and shared corridors | Every street on the plan |
| Main services found | Road-verge cables, rail S&T, other pipelines, fibre | Water, power, telecom, sewer, chambers |
| Usual survey type | L-section at crossings | Standard scan, L-section at major roads |
| Construction method | Open cut plus HDD at crossings | Open cut, HDD at junctions and main roads |
| Output | Crossing drawings, depth profiles, KMZ | Street-wise utility drawing, find list |
Before any digging near a gas line, other asset owners should be alerted; Call Before u Dig is a guide our clients use to understand that process in India.
Why do HDD crossings need an L-section?
Because a bore is defined by its depth profile, and the designer needs the depth of every service along that profile. A standard scan gives positions and depths at each crossing service. An L-section adds a continuous longitudinal profile along the bore line, so the drill path can be drawn with clearance above and below every obstacle.
Gas crossings under highways and canals are often long and deep, and a deviation there is expensive to fix. Our own HDD fleet of 18 rigs means our survey engineers think in terms of entry angles, bend radius and pit space, not only lines on a drawing.
Can the survey protect existing gas lines too?
Yes, and it is a common request. When a metro, road or fibre project digs near an existing gas pipeline, the gas company needs to know the work will keep clear. We scan the pipeline's real position and depth in the work zone, which often differs from the drawings, and mark it for the third-party contractor. The pipe owner's own procedures for working near its assets still apply in full.
What does a pipeline route survey cost?
₹24 per metre for a standard scan and ₹32 per metre for an L-section, plus GST. Minimum order: ₹50,000 in Delhi NCR, ₹1,00,000 elsewhere. Whole orders above 100 km get 25% off, above 500 km 40%, and above 1,000 km 50%.
- Crossings on a trunk spur totalling 4.5 km of L-section: 4,500 × ₹32 = ₹1,44,000 plus GST.
- 22 km of steel mains in a city gas area: 22,000 × ₹24 = ₹5,28,000 plus GST.
- 600 km of MDPE streets across a geographical area: the 40% slab brings the rate to ₹14.40, so ₹86,40,000 plus GST.
For all slabs and inclusions, see our page on GPR survey rates.
What should you send for a gas route quote?
The alignment, the pipe type and diameter, and where you plan to drill. A KMZ or design drawing is enough to start. For city gas work, a list of streets or a charge-area map helps us plan crews by locality; for trunk lines, a crossing schedule lets us price the L-sections accurately.
Tell us about working conditions too. Note whether road permissions allow day work, and whether any stretch passes through a cantonment, industrial estate or forest area with its own access rules. Give the date the laying crew will start. We schedule the survey a few days ahead of laying, close enough that the ground has not changed and far enough that the designer can react to what we find.
GAIL (India) Limited and city gas distribution companies have both ordered pipeline corridor surveys from Mezux Touch directly. Company names on this page are used only to describe the type of work; all trademarks belong to their owners. We also work for pipeline EPC contractors, CGD network contractors and consultants, with our own crews. To plan a first section, book a site visit.
Frequently asked questions
Can GPR find a yellow MDPE gas pipe?
Yes, in most soil conditions, as a clear reflection. Wet clay has high electrical conductivity, so small service lines there are harder to see, and lower-confidence finds are marked as such.
Do you survey before or after the CGD design?
Before final design is best, so the alignment avoids clashes. The data collection then feeds the network's underground utility mapping. A survey after design is still useful to fix pits and crossings.
Can you survey a canal crossing?
Yes, on both banks and along the approach. For the bore, see HDD route survey details.
Do you mark the existing gas pipe for other contractors?
Yes, within the work zone, with paint marks and a drawing. The pipeline owner's own rules for nearby work still apply.
Is the survey enough to meet the regulator's standards?
No survey alone meets a standard. It supplies the facts that the design and construction teams use to meet it.
Get a written quote for your pipeline route
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Written by Saniya Parveen · Technically reviewed by Rahul Rai · Updated 8 November 2026