The BJP is all set to showcase the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train as the success story of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term at the Centre in August 2026 as the party is confident of returning to power.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told The Pioneer that a section of about 50 km of the high-speed corridor will be thrown open to the public in August 2026. Vaishnaw said that the Surat-Bilimora section on the 508-km-long corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad could be operational by July-August 2026.

“The other sections will be opened one after the other thereafter,” he said.

Vaishnaw made these statements during a site visit where the tunnelling process was initiated for the 21 km long India’s first underground/undersea tunnel as part of the bullet train project. He also visited to assess the progress for the underground stations at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in Maharashtra.

“Challenges involved multiple controlled blasting with sufficient noise and air pollution prevention measures so as to cause minimal disturbance to the environment and population in the adjoining areas,” Vaishnaw said.

The method includes the preparation of shafts in areas with high population density and adjoining utilities like various pipelines, electrical installations, and other adjacent infrastructure projects such as Metro and highways.

The tunnel will be a single tube tunnel to accommodate twin tracks for both up and down tracks. Thirty-nine equipment rooms will also be constructed adjoining the tunnel location as part of the package.

To construct this tunnel with a diameter of 13.1 metres, Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) with a cutter head of 13.6 meters in diameter will be used. Usually, 5-6 meter diameter cutter heads are used for urban tunnels used in Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) such as the Metro system.

Three Tunnel Boring Machines will be used to create about 16 km of the tunnel portion, and the remaining 5 km will be constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM).

This tunnel will be about 25 to 57 metres deep from ground level, with the deepest construction point being 114 metres below the Parsik Hill.

Vaishnaw asserted that the high-speed line will usher in economic growth.

The bullet train corridor will have ‘limited stop’ and ‘all stop’ services. While the limited-stop trains will cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just two hours, the other service will take about 2 hours and 45 minutes.

A total of 12 stations have been planned for the project, which is being implemented by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).

“Had the (then) Uddhav Thackeray government given all the permissions faster, this project might have progressed much further by now,” Vaishnav said.

He said as soon as the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis (Shiv Sena-BJP) government came to power in the state, permissions were given in 10 days.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Thackeray fell in 2022 after Shinde split the Shiv Sena with his rebellion. Shinde then aligned with the BJP to form the government and became the chief minister, with Fadnavis taking the deputy CM’s post.

The railway minister said that the 284-km-long bullet train corridor viaduct is ready in Gujarat, where work has progressed swiftly.

To speed up tunnel construction, innovations have been made and work was started from four points at a time. Of the four points two are shafts, one ADIT (additionally driven intermediate tunnel) and one final point at BKC (Bandra-Kurla Complex) station.

The bullet train corridor has a 21-km-long tunnel, including a 7-km undersea stretch, he said, calling the work challenging. The deepest point of the tunnel is 56 metres and it will also be very wide with a width of 40 feet. Inside the tunnel too, the trains will run at the speed of 300-320 kmph, Vaishnaw said.

Work on the tunnel is underway at BKC, Vikhroli and Ghansoli. NHSRCL said they are facing multiple challenges at these shaft construction sites, which have high population density and several utilities like pipelines, electrical installation and infrastructure projects, including the Metro and highways.

“Three Tunnel Boring Machines will be used to make about 16 km of the tunnel portion and the remaining 5 km will be through New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM),” NHSRCL said.

The cost of the project is pegged at Rs 1.08 lakh crore and as per its shareholding pattern, the Government of India is to pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while the two states involved, Gujarat and Maharashtra, are to pay Rs 5,000 crore each.

The rest is to be funded by Japan through a loan carrying 0.1 per cent interest.

In another engineering marvel by the Indian Railways, The Pamban railway bridge, India’s first vertical-lift bridge connecting the country’s mainland with Rameswaram Island, will become operational very soon. Railway Board chairperson Jaya Varma Sinha who recently visited Rameswaram to review the progress of the work said the re-construction work is going very well and we will be restoring the services very soon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new bridge, parallel to the old one, in November 2019 and the work was started in February 2020 by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

It was supposed to be completed by December 2021, however, the deadline was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

End

deepak kumar jha  n mumbai

The BJP is all set to showcase the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train as the success story of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term at the Centre in August 2026 as the party is confident of returning to power.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told The Pioneer that a section of about 50 km of the high-speed corridor will be thrown open to the public in August 2026. Vaishnaw said that the Surat-Bilimora section on the 508-km-long corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad could be operational by July-August 2026.

“The other sections will be opened one after the other thereafter,” he said.

Vaishnaw made these statements during a site visit where the tunnelling process was initiated for the 21 km long India’s first underground/undersea tunnel as part of the bullet train project. He also visited to assess the progress for the underground stations at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in Maharashtra.

“Challenges involved multiple controlled blasting with sufficient noise and air pollution prevention measures so as to cause minimal disturbance to the environment and population in the adjoining areas,” Vaishnaw said.

The method includes the preparation of shafts in areas with high population density and adjoining utilities like various pipelines, electrical installations, and other adjacent infrastructure projects such as Metro and highways.

The tunnel will be a single tube tunnel to accommodate twin tracks for both up and down tracks. Thirty-nine equipment rooms will also be constructed adjoining the tunnel location as part of the package.

To construct this tunnel with a diameter of 13.1 metres, Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) with a cutter head of 13.6 meters in diameter will be used. Usually, 5-6 meter diameter cutter heads are used for urban tunnels used in Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) such as the Metro system.

Three Tunnel Boring Machines will be used to create about 16 km of the tunnel portion, and the remaining 5 km will be constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM).

This tunnel will be about 25 to 57 metres deep from ground level, with the deepest construction point being 114 metres below the Parsik Hill.

Vaishnaw asserted that the high-speed line will usher in economic growth.

The bullet train corridor will have ‘limited stop’ and ‘all stop’ services. While the limited-stop trains will cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just two hours, the other service will take about 2 hours and 45 minutes.

A total of 12 stations have been planned for the project, which is being implemented by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).

“Had the (then) Uddhav Thackeray government given all the permissions faster, this project might have progressed much further by now,” Vaishnav said.

He said as soon as the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis (Shiv Sena-BJP) government came to power in the state, permissions were given in 10 days.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Thackeray fell in 2022 after Shinde split the Shiv Sena with his rebellion. Shinde then aligned with the BJP to form the government and became the chief minister, with Fadnavis taking the deputy CM’s post.

The railway minister said that the 284-km-long bullet train corridor viaduct is ready in Gujarat, where work has progressed swiftly.

To speed up tunnel construction, innovations have been made and work was started from four points at a time. Of the four points two are shafts, one ADIT (additionally driven intermediate tunnel) and one final point at BKC (Bandra-Kurla Complex) station.

The bullet train corridor has a 21-km-long tunnel, including a 7-km undersea stretch, he said, calling the work challenging. The deepest point of the tunnel is 56 metres and it will also be very wide with a width of 40 feet. Inside the tunnel too, the trains will run at the speed of 300-320 kmph, Vaishnaw said.

Work on the tunnel is underway at BKC, Vikhroli and Ghansoli. NHSRCL said they are facing multiple challenges at these shaft construction sites, which have high population density and several utilities like pipelines, electrical installation and infrastructure projects, including the Metro and highways.

“Three Tunnel Boring Machines will be used to make about 16 km of the tunnel portion and the remaining 5 km will be through New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM),” NHSRCL said.

The cost of the project is pegged at Rs 1.08 lakh crore and as per its shareholding pattern, the Government of India is to pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while the two states involved, Gujarat and Maharashtra, are to pay Rs 5,000 crore each.

The rest is to be funded by Japan through a loan carrying 0.1 per cent interest.

In another engineering marvel by the Indian Railways, The Pamban railway bridge, India’s first vertical-lift bridge connecting the country’s mainland with Rameswaram Island, will become operational very soon. Railway Board chairperson Jaya Varma Sinha who recently visited Rameswaram to review the progress of the work said the re-construction work is going very well and we will be restoring the services very soon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new bridge, parallel to the old one, in November 2019 and the work was started in February 2020 by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

It was supposed to be completed by December 2021, however, the deadline was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.