New Delhi, February 3: Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced a major milestone in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project with the successful breakthrough of the second mountain tunnel in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
According to an official release from the Ministry of Railways, the newly completed tunnel measures 454 metres in length and 14.4 metres in width, and is designed to accommodate both up and down tracks of the high-speed rail corridor.
This marks the second mountain tunnel breakthrough in Palghar within a month for the project. The first, identified as MT-5 near Saphale, was completed on January 2.
Congratulating the high-speed rail team, Vaishnaw said the pace of construction has instilled renewed confidence across the country. He noted that the project is attracting global attention and appreciation for its innovative construction techniques and advanced use of technology.
The minister highlighted that many of the sophisticated construction technologies and large machines deployed for the project are manufactured in India, underscoring the country’s growing engineering capabilities.
Vaishnaw stated that the Gujarat section of the bullet train corridor is expected to begin commercial operations next year. He added that high-speed rail services are likely to extend up to Thane by 2028, with the full corridor reaching Mumbai by 2029.
As per the Railways Ministry, the mountain tunnel, designated MT-6, was excavated simultaneously from both ends using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), a drill-and-controlled blast technique. The excavation was completed within a period of 12 months.
A mountain tunnel breakthrough represents a critical engineering milestone, achieved when excavation teams advancing from opposite ends meet at the centre to create a continuous passage through the mountain.
The New Austrian Tunnelling Method is preferred in complex geological conditions such as those in Palghar district, where irregular tunnel shapes make tunnel boring machines unsuitable. The method allows for real-time adaptation through the use of shotcreting, rock bolts, and lattice girders, without the need for extremely heavy machinery.
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