1.5-km MT-5 tunnel breakthrough marks milestone for India’s bullet train

India’s high-speed rail corridor recorded a milestone on Friday with the breakthrough of the 1.5-km Mountain Tunnel-5 (MT-5) in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually witnessed the final breakthrough from Rail Bhawan in New Delhi, stating, “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.” 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.”

A Railway Ministry note described the tunnel as among the longest in Palghar district, located between the Virar and Boisar bullet train stations. It is the first mountain tunnel completed on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor and the second tunnel breakthrough in Maharashtra, following the completion of a 5-km underground tunnel between Thane and BKC in September 2025.

Addressing station and depot planning, Vaishnaw said, “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.” He added, “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.”

The 508-km Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project traverses Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with trains designed to run at 320 km/h and an estimated travel time of about 2 hours and 17 minutes. Earlier this week, Vaishnaw said India is likely to operate its first bullet train on 15 August 2027, noting that “the bullet train will be ready in 2027, August 15th, 2027.” Detailing the phased commissioning, 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.” He also announced that the first Vande Bharat sleeper train is planned for launch this month, with the Prime Minister expected to flag off the service in the second half of January 2026.