The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project has achieved another major engineering milestone with the successful breakthrough of the third mountain tunnel (MT-07) at Ambesari village in Dahanu taluka of Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
The latest breakthrough marks the third mountain tunnel completed in Maharashtra within the last five months, underlining the rapid progress being made on one of the most technically challenging sections of India’s first high-speed rail corridor.
According to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the MT-07 tunnel is 417 metres long and 14.4 metres wide, and has been designed to accommodate both up and down tracks of the Bullet Train corridor. The tunnel was excavated using a controlled drilling and blasting method from both ends.
Advanced monitoring systems and geotechnical instruments were deployed throughout the excavation process to ensure structural stability, worker safety and precision execution. Real-time monitoring arrangements, including surface settlement points, 3D targets, strain gauges and seismographs, were used to track vibrations, tunnel behaviour and the condition of surrounding structures.
Comprehensive safety measures, including ventilation systems, fire-safety arrangements, controlled access and continuous geotechnical supervision, were maintained during the tunnelling work.
The latest achievement follows the breakthrough of the 1.5-kilometre-long MT-05 tunnel near Saphale in Palghar district on January 2, 2026, which was the first mountain tunnel breakthrough in Maharashtra for the Bullet Train project. This was followed by the breakthrough of the 454-metre-long MT-06 tunnel on February 3, 2026, excavated using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM).
Of the seven mountain tunnels under construction in Maharashtra, MT-05, MT-06 and MT-07 have now achieved breakthroughs. MT-08, a 350-metre tunnel, achieved breakthrough in October 2023, while excavation work on MT-03 has crossed 80 per cent completion and MT-04 has reached nearly 60 per cent progress. Work on MT-01 and MT-02 is also progressing steadily.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project comprises eight mountain tunnels in total, seven of which are located in Palghar district of Maharashtra and one in Gujarat’s Valsad district, where tunnelling work has already been completed.
Officials said all three mountain tunnels located between the Vapi and Boisar Bullet Train stations have now been successfully excavated. The section passes through a key industrial belt between Maharashtra and Gujarat and forms an important part of the high-speed rail corridor.
