Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project: Tunnel Breakthrough At Palghar

The tunnel, MT-6, is 454 metres long and 14.4 metres wide, and will house both up and down tracks of the high-speed rail corridor, an official said. This is the second bullet train tunnel breakthrough in Palghar in a month, after the completion of the MT-5 tunnel near Saphale on January 2, he said. The MT-6 tunnel was excavated from both ends using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), a drill-and-controlled blasting technique suited for complex geological conditions. The excavation was completed within 12 months, the official said.

The 508-km railway project connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which passes through Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, is India's only high-speed rail project designed to operate bullet trains at a speed of 320 kmph.

According to officials, the construction of seven bullet train tunnels is underway in Palghar, with tunnel excavation and allied works at various stages of completion. Work on the high-speed corridor is underway at multiple locations in Maharashtra, including river bridges over the Vaitarna, Ulhas, and Jagani rivers, station buildings, highway crossings, and a 21-km underground tunnel between the Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata.

As of January 27, around 334 km of viaducts, 17 river bridges and 12 major crossings over national highways, railways and other infrastructure have been completed. Track laying and electrification works have gathered pace in the Gujarat section.