The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is constructing the 508-kilometre Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Corridor, which will connect Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) station with Shilphata in Thane through the tunnel. The undersea section will extend for seven kilometres beneath Thane Creek.
The tunnel is being built using two advanced technologies. Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are being used to excavate 16 kilometres of the route, while the Austrian tunnelling method is being deployed to cut through challenging mountainous terrain. Two large TBMs are working round the clock to complete the excavation.
Excavation has started from Vikhroli towards Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, covering a stretch of approximately six kilometres. Another TBM is excavating from Savali near Ghansoli towards Vikhroli. This machine is also undertaking the challenging seven-kilometre section beneath Thane Creek.
The tunnel will be constructed as a single, massive tube containing two parallel tracks for trains travelling in opposite directions. It will pass at depths ranging from approximately 25 to 55 metres below the ground and sea surface.
A major breakthrough has already been achieved with the completion of the 4.8-kilometre tunnel section between Ghansoli and Shilphata.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Corridor will have 12 stations: Mumbai BKC, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
The bullet train is designed to operate at a speed of 320 kilometres per hour, reducing the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to two hours and seven minutes.
Construction work on the project has also progressed across Maharashtra and Gujarat. More than 366 kilometres of elevated viaducts have been completed, with pillars erected across the route.
Of the total 508-kilometre corridor, 459.90 kilometres of foundational work has been completed. Pillars have been erected along a 455-kilometre stretch.
In Gujarat, bridges have been completed across 18 of the 21 rivers along the route. Of the 28 steel bridges planned for the entire bullet train corridor, 16 massive steel bridges have been constructed.
The first steel bridge in Maharashtra was completed in Bhiwandi, Thane district. Measuring 100 metres in length and weighing 1,405 tonnes, the bridge has been constructed over National Highway-3.
The project is being developed with the assistance of Japan’s Shinkansen technology and is India’s first high-speed rail project. Land acquisition for the entire project has been completed.
According to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, speed trials for the first indigenous bullet train are expected to begin in May or June 2027. Special train sets will be brought from Japan.
The first bullet train service in the country could begin between Surat and Bilimora, covering approximately 50 kilometres, by August 15, 2027.
The entire 508-kilometre Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is expected to become fully operational by December 2030.
The project is also introducing specialised technologies to improve train operations through tunnels. For the first time in India, tunnel hoods are being used in mountain tunnels to control pressure waves generated when high-speed trains pass through them. The technology is also intended to prevent the loud explosive sound produced when trains emerge from tunnels.
In Vadodara, all 14 heavy portal beams have been successfully installed to carry the bullet train viaduct over the Delhi-Mumbai railway line, one of the busiest railway routes.
Due to delays in receiving E10 coaches based on Japan’s Shinkansen technology, a decision has been taken to use indigenous B28 train sets. To promote domestic coach manufacturing, BEML has been awarded a rolling-stock supply contract worth Rs 5,400 crore.
The bullet train stations are also being designed around distinctive themes reflecting the regions they serve. The corridor passes through Maharashtra, Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Among the 12 stations, Surat’s bullet train station has been designed around a diamond theme, inspired by the city’s diamond-cutting industry. Anand station reflects the dairy revolution and draws inspiration from Amul.
Sabarmati station is being developed as a multimodal transport hub.
With the construction of the undersea tunnel, elevated tracks, specialised bridges and indigenous train sets, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Corridor is progressing towards its first operational section in 2027, followed by the planned commissioning of the entire route by December 2030.
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