India’s first bullet train project is moving into a major construction phase, with the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor expected to begin its first service in the last quarter of 2027, according to a post shared by Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and reported by Aaj Tak Business. The 508-kilometre corridor will include an underground station at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex and a 7-kilometre undersea rail tunnel beneath Thane Creek.
The corridor is being built across Maharashtra, Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Vaishnaw said in the post shared on October 24 that the project had moved beyond the announcement stage and was now a 508-kilometre construction programme progressing at full speed. The proposed first service will operate on the Ahmedabad–Mumbai high-speed route in the final quarter of 2027.
The BKC station is being constructed approximately 32 metres below ground, or nearly 100 feet, making it the only underground station on the high-speed rail corridor, according to the details cited in the report. The station is located in Mumbai’s business district and will have three levels for platforms, a concourse and service areas. Six platforms, each longer than 400 metres, are planned at the station.
A few kilometres from the underground station, construction is also progressing on the rail tunnel beneath Thane Creek. The report said the Maharashtra section of the corridor includes a 21-kilometre tunnel, of which approximately 7 kilometres will pass below the creek. It is being described as India’s first undersea rail tunnel.
Two tunnel boring machines were launched from Vikhroli and Sawli in July 2026, according to the minister’s project description cited by Aaj Tak Business. Each machine has a cutterhead with a diameter of 13.6 metres and weighs more than 3,000 tonnes. The machines are approximately 96 metres long. Their scale is intended to support excavation for the large-diameter tunnel required for high-speed rail operations beneath the creek.
The high-speed trains are planned to reach a maximum speed of 320 kilometres per hour, while the average operating speed between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is expected to be about 300 kilometres per hour. The corridor will have 12 stations: Mumbai BKC, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
The project’s construction profile places Mumbai’s transport infrastructure at the centre of a system that combines deep urban excavation, long-distance rail connectivity and undersea tunnelling. The BKC station will serve a major commercial district, while the Thane Creek section introduces a technically complex crossing into the route. The next project milestone identified in the minister’s statement is the planned start of the first bullet train service in the last quarter of 2027.
