CNN Central News & Networks / ITDC India ePress / ITDC News /Agencies/ Bhopal: CNN Central News & Networks / ITDC India ePress / ITDC News / Agencies, Bhopal: Construction of the country’s first undersea rail tunnel is moving ahead rapidly in Maharashtra under the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. About 7 kilometres of the tunnel will pass beneath the seabed of Thane Creek. It will be the first undersea rail tunnel to be built on any rail corridor in India. Once completed, the bullet train will pass under the sea.
This undersea section is part of a total 21-kilometre underground tunnel stretch being built from Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Shilphata. Of this, 16 kilometres is being excavated with tunnel boring machines (TBMs), while the remaining 5 kilometres has been built using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method.
In July 2026, the second tunnel boring machine began excavation from Savli, Ghansoli, in Navi Mumbai towards Vikhroli. Earlier, the first machine had started work from Vikhroli towards BKC. Both machines are equipped with advanced technology and each weighs more than 3,000 tonnes. Their cutterhead diameter is 13.6 metres.
According to the Rail Ministry, a 39-metre-deep shaft has been built at Savli to lower the machine into the tunnel. Special technology and safety monitoring are being used in this part of the project because of complex geological conditions and the marine zone. The construction is being regarded as a major achievement for Indian railway engineering.
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