Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Thursday that India’s first bullet train will be operational by August 15, 2027. The inaugural service will run on the 50-kilometer Surat-Bilimora section in Gujarat.
The ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, a 508-km project currently being built by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), will be opened in phases. Following the Surat-Bilimora launch, services will extend to Vapi-Surat, then Vapi-Ahmedabad, and subsequently Thane-Ahmedabad. The entire corridor connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad is targeted for completion by December 2029.
Once fully operational, the high-speed train will slash travel time between the two major cities from the current 6-7 hours to just about 2 hours and 7 minutes. The corridor will feature 12 stations: Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati.
With an estimated project cost of approximately ₹1.08 lakh crore, about 81% of the funding is being provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through a soft loan.
Current Construction Status (as of early December 2025):
Significant progress has been made on the ground:
- Viaducts & Pillars: Out of the 508 km alignment, 330 km of viaduct and 408 km of pier work is complete.
- Bridges: Construction of 17 river bridges and 16 major bridges (5 Pre-Stressed Concrete and 11 steel bridges, including the first span of a key 230-meter steel bridge) is finished.
- Noise Barriers: Over 470,000 noise barriers have been installed along 235 km of the route.
- Track & Electrification: 260 track-km of concrete track bed is laid, and around 3,700 overhead electrification masts have been erected across 85 route-km.
- Tunnels: Excavation work is progressing on 7 mountain tunnels in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, with 5 km of the 21-km tunnel between BKC and Shilphata already excavated.
- Stations & Depots: Superstructure work on all stations in Gujarat is at an advanced stage. Work has begun on the three elevated stations in Maharashtra, and base slab casting is underway at the underground Mumbai station. Rolling stock depots in Surat and Ahmedabad are also under construction.
