Mumbai, September 20: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw marked a significant achievement in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project on Saturday by interacting with workers involved in the construction of the project's tunnels. Congratulating them for reaching a breakthrough using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), Vaishnaw was seen shaking hands with the workers as they celebrated, proudly holding national flags.
"This marks a crucial milestone in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project," Vaishnaw said to ANI. "We are constructing an undersea tunnel beneath the creek between Mumbai and Thane." He also highlighted that a Japanese team had visited the site the previous day to assess the progress, noting that over 320 kilometers of the viaducts, or bridge sections, have already been completed.
Vaishnaw emphasized the importance of the ongoing work, saying, "This is a major achievement for the entire project. The viaducts are coming up quickly, including bridges over rivers, and the Sabarmati terminal is nearing completion."
The ambitious bullet train project is expected to revolutionize travel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad by reducing the journey time from 2 hours to just 7 minutes. The project will also benefit other key cities like Thane, Vapi, Surat, Baroda, and Anand, spurring economic growth in these areas. The minister further revealed plans to have a train depart every 30 minutes during peak hours, to reduce wait times to as little as 10 minutes during the busiest periods.
"This new system will transform the way people travel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Gone will be the need for pre-booked tickets. Passengers will be able to arrive at the station, board a train within minutes, and reach their destination in just two hours," Vaishnaw explained.
In a breakthrough for the undersea tunnel segment of the project between BKC and Shillphata, the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) completed the 5 km stretch of tunnel. This section, which includes a 7 km segment beneath the Thane Creek, was particularly challenging. Tunnel excavation began in May 2024, and on July 9, engineers celebrated the first major breakthrough, completing a 2.7 km continuous stretch between the ADIT and the Savali shaft.
With this achievement, excavation is now finished between the Savali shaft and the Shillphata tunnel portal, enabling integration with the viaduct portion of the Mega Airport High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project. To speed up progress, an Additional Driven Intermediate Tunnel (ADIT) was constructed, allowing simultaneous tunneling from both the Ghansoli and Shilphata ends.
