Mumbai Ahmedabad Bullet Train Gets Boost as Longest Mountain Tunnel Nears Completion

Mumbai

oi-Madhuri Adnal

India’s
first
bullet
train
project
has
crossed
a
major
construction
milestone
with
the
completion
of
a
key
mountain
tunnel
in
Maharashtra’s
Palghar
district.
Railway
Minister
Ashwini
Vaishnaw
confirmed
that
Mountain
Tunnel
5
of
the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
Bullet
Train
corridor
has
been
successfully
completed,
bringing
the
project
closer
to
reality.

The
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
High
Speed
Rail
project
includes
seven
mountain
tunnels
and
one
undersea
tunnel,
making
it
one
of
the
most
technically
complex
railway
projects
ever
undertaken
in
India.
The
Palghar
tunnel
is
the
longest
and
first
completed
mountain
tunnel
among
the
seven
planned
in
Maharashtra.

How
long
is
the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet
train
route

The
bullet
train
corridor
will
cover
a
total
distance
of
508
kilometres.
Out
of
this,
156
kilometres
lie
in
Maharashtra,
while
352
kilometres
pass
through
Gujarat
and
Dadra
and
Nagar
Haveli.

Tunnels
account
for
27.4
kilometres
of
the
route.
Around
21
kilometres
are
underground,
while
6.4
kilometres
are
surface
tunnels.
Maharashtra
alone
has
seven
mountain
tunnels,
with
a
combined
length
of
just
over
6
kilometres.

Details
of
the
Palghar
mountain
tunnel

The
newly
completed
Mountain
Tunnel
5
in
Palghar
measures
1.48
kilometres,
or
1.39
kilometres
excluding
tunnel
entrances.
It
is
the
longest
mountain
tunnel
in
the
Maharashtra
section
of
the
project
and
marks
a
crucial
phase
in
construction
through
difficult
terrain.

Earlier,
in
September
2025,
the
project
completed
its
first
underground
tunnel
of
nearly
five
kilometres
between
Thane
and
Bandra
Kurla
Complex,
another
important
breakthrough
for
the
bullet
train
network.

Bullet
train
stations
between
Mumbai
and
Ahmedabad

The
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet
train
will
have
12
stations.
Bandra
Kurla
Complex
will
serve
as
the
Mumbai
terminal,
while
Sabarmati
will
be
the
terminal
station
in
Gujarat.

The
stations
along
the
route
include:

Sabarmati,
Ahmedabad,
Anand,
Vadodara,
Bharuch,
Surat,
Bilimora,
Vapi,
Boisar,
Virar,
Thane
and
Mumbai.

The
project
will
also
have
three
depots,
more
than
usual
for
a
corridor
of
this
length,
to
support
operations
and
maintenance.

New
bridge
construction
updates

In
another
recent
update,
the
project
completed
the
launch
of
a
130
metre
steel
bridge
span
over
National
Highway
64
and
the
Bharuch-Dahej
freight
rail
line
in
Gujarat.
The
bridge
was
assembled
using
advanced
engineering
techniques
and
launched
within
12
hours
with
controlled
traffic
diversions
to
avoid
major
disruption.

The
bridge
weighs
nearly
2,800
metric
tonnes
and
has
been
designed
for
a
100
year
service
life,
meeting
international
safety
and
durability
standards.

How
much
work
is
completed
so
far

To
reduce
land
acquisition
and
improve
safety,
nearly
85
percent
of
the
bullet
train
route
is
being
built
on
elevated
viaducts.
So
far,
326
kilometres
of
viaduct
construction
has
been
completed.
In
addition,
17
out
of
25
planned
river
bridges
are
already
in
place.

When
will
the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet
train
start

Once
operational,
the
bullet
train
is
expected
to
reduce
travel
time
between
Mumbai
and
Ahmedabad
to
around
two
hours.
The
project
is
expected
to
improve
connectivity,
boost
business
travel,
promote
tourism
and
drive
economic
growth
along
the
corridor.

With
major
tunnelling
and
bridge
milestones
now
being
achieved,
the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet
train
project
is
steadily
moving
closer
to
becoming
India’s
first
operational
high
speed
rail
corridor.