New Delhi: On Tuesday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a significant milestone in the Bullet Train Project with the breakthrough of the second mountain tunnel in Palghar, Maharashtra. This tunnel is 454 metres long with a width of 14.4 metres, and will accommodate both up and down tracks for the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor.
This is the second mountain tunnel breakthrough in Palghar district within a span of one month for the Bullet Train project, the first being MT-5 near Saphale on 2nd January 2026.
The mountain tunnel (MT6) was excavated from both ends using New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), a cutting-edge drill-and-controlled blast method. The excavation is completed within 12 months. A mountain tunnel breakthrough marks a key engineering milestone when excavation teams digging from opposite ends of the tunnel finally meet at the center, forming a continuous passage through the mountain.
After congratulating the entire high-speed rail team for their remarkable progress, He said the pace at which the team is working has instilled new confidence in the country. The project is drawing global attention and appreciation due to several new innovations in construction and technology. He highlighted that many advanced construction technologies and large machines being used for the project are manufactured in India.
Vaishnaw said that the Gujarat section of the bullet train project is expected to begin commercial operations next year. He added that highspeed rail operations are expected to extend up to Thane by 2028, with the corridor reaching Mumbai by 2029. Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from the Palghar constituency, was also present on the occasion. He expressed gratitude to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the high-speed tunnel breakthrough in Palghar. He highlighted the district’s rapid development through several key railway projects, including the high-speed rail corridor, the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), and the upcoming Vadhvan Port. He emphasized that railway investment in Maharashtra has increased significantly since 2014, resulting in faster project completion and improved services. The New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) is favoured for its flexibility in complex geological conditions like in Palghar district and irregular tunnel shapes where tunnel boring machines are not that suitable. This process does not require very heavy machinery and allows real time adaptation using shotcreting, rock bolts and lattice girders. In Maharashtra, construction work is progressing rapidly on multiple fronts. The project’s longest river bridge on Vaitarna river has reached pier level, apart from foundation level work on other major rivers like Ulhas &Jagani. Work is also progressing rapidly on all four stations, major national and state highway crossings using long span steel bridges and a 21 km long tunnel between Bandra Kurla complex and Shilphata. A total of 7 mountain tunnels are under progress in Palghar district in Maharashtra.
The MAHSR project spans approximately 508 kilometres, covering 352 km in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and 156 km in Maharashtra. The project is expected to foster economic activity along the corridor, facilitate knowledge transfer, and support the development of new industrial and IT hubs.
The corridor will connect major cities including Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Bilimora, Vapi, Boisar, Virar, Thane, and Mumbai, marking a transformative step in India’s transportation infrastructure.
