India’s first bullet train corridor, the 508-kilometre Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, is steadily progressing across Maharashtra, Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Designed to operate at 320 kmph, the corridor will cut travel time between the two cities to approximately one hour and 58 minutes, using Japan’s Shinkansen technology and operational standards.
The corridor will serve 12 stations including Mumbai, Thane, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati, with the Sabarmati station developed as a multimodal hub integrating metro, BRTS and conventional rail. The first high-speed rail service is expected to commence in August 2027.
Construction has advanced significantly across bridge, viaduct and tunnel works. The project includes 25 river bridges and 28 steel bridges. A notable engineering achievement is India’s first undersea rail tunnel beneath Thane Creek, a 21-kilometre section with an approximately seven-kilometre undersea stretch, of which around 4.8 kilometres have been completed using TBMs and the New Austrian Tunnelling Method.
Safety infrastructure includes an Early Earthquake Detection System with 28 seismometers, alongside dedicated rainfall and wind monitoring systems for real-time operational response.
The project is projected to create around 4,000 direct and up to 40,000 indirect jobs, while boosting sectors including steel, cement and construction. A High-Speed Rail Training Institute is also being established in Vadodara.
The Union Budget 2026–27 announced seven additional high-speed rail corridors spanning nearly 4,000 kilometres, signalling India’s growing commitment to high-speed rail as a core component of its future transport network.
