NEW DELHI: India’s bullet train corridor marked a major milestone on Friday with the breakthrough of a high-speed mountain tunnel in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually witnessed the final breakthrough of the 1.5-km-long Mountain Tunnel-5 (MT-5) from Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. This is the first mountain tunnel to be completed on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train corridor.Addressing a press conference, Vaishnaw said, “Today, a major milestone has been achieved in the Bullet Train Project. This milestone is the breakthrough of Mountain Tunnel-5. In the entire Bullet Train Project, there are seven mountain tunnels and one under sea tunnel.” Calling it a crucial step forward, he added, “With this (tunnel breakthrough) everything between Thane and Ahmedabad is clear now. Only Mumbai–Thane under sea stretch is a constraint now, rest entire project is clear now.”According to a Railway Ministry note, “this 1.5-km-long mountain tunnel is among the longest in Palghar district and is located between the Virar and Boisar bullet train stations. It is the second tunnel breakthrough in Maharashtra, as the first 5-km-long underground tunnel between Thane and BKC was completed in September 2025.”
Vaishnaw also highlighted station and depot planning challenges, saying, “Overall, there are 12 stations in this project… Sabarmati is the terminal station, and in Mumbai, the terminal station is BKC. Three depots are being constructed. Normally, for a stretch of 508 kilometres, only two depots are required.”“However, three depots had to be planned because, for a long period, the then Maharashtra government, during (Uddhav) Thackeray ji’s tenure, stopped granting permissions and refused approvals. Because of this delay, additional arrangements had to be made,” he added.The 508-km Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, passing through Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, is designed for trains running at 320 kmph, cutting travel time to about 2 hours and 17 minutes.Earlier this week, Vaishnaw said India is likely to get its first bullet train on 15 August 2027, stating that, “the bullet train will be ready in 2027, August 15th, 2027.” Detailing the phased rollout, he said, “the first section to open will be from Surat to Bilimora. After that, Vapi to Surat will open. Then Vapi to Ahmedabad will open, and after that, Thane to Ahmedabad will open, and then Mumbai to Ahmedabad will open.”The minister also announced that the first Vande Bharat sleeper train is set to be launched this month, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to flag off the service in the second half of January 2026.
