Bullet Train Project: Railway Minister inspects undersea tunnel progress

Mumbai: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the construction site of the undersea tunnel for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor, also known as the bullet train project, on Saturday.

The 21 km-long undersea tunnel, India’s first of its kind, is being constructed between the Mumbai Bullet Train Underground Station at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in Maharashtra. Of the 21 km of tunneling, 16 km is being done using Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM), while the remaining 5 km is through the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). The project also includes a 7 km stretch of undersea tunnel at Thane Creek.

Vaishnaw assured reporters at the site in Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, that the tunnel’s design and construction are being meticulously planned.

🚄 Bharat’s first under sea rail tunnel!

Visited Bullet train project site and inspected the work progress of ADIT (Additionally Driven Intermediate Tunnel).
📍Ghansoli, Mumbai pic.twitter.com/UWvJ3zOFL3

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) January 18, 2025

“The technology and design of the tunnel enable two trains to travel at speeds of 250 kilometers per hour. Environmental protection measures, along with proper ventilation and lighting, have been integrated,” said the Union Minister. He also highlighted the significant progress on the construction of bridges and stations along the 340-kilometer corridor.

Vaishnaw further noted that the trains in this undersea tunnel will travel at much higher speeds than those in Kolkata Metro’s under-river tunnel. DeshGujarat