First look of India's proposed bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai unveiled

New Delhi: Indian Railways on Monday unveiled the design of the country’s first bullet train, which will operate on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, with a large image of the train now on display at Gate Number 4 of the Rail Bhavan, Ministry of Railways headquarters.

The sleek high-speed train, designed for a speed of 280 kmph, marks a major milestone for India’s maiden high-speed rail project.

Once fully operational, the 508-km corridor will reduce travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to around two hours. The first phase of the project is scheduled to launch on August 15, 2027.

The design of train unveiling follows a major construction milestone in Mumbai. On Sunday, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) lowered the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) cutterhead at Vikhroli.

The 13.6-metre diameter cutterhead weighs 350 tonnes. Two giant TBMs, each over 3,000 tonnes, are being assembled for the project.These machines will build a 16-km section of the 21-km Mumbai tunnel.

This includes India’s first 7-km undersea rail tunnel beneath Thane Creek.The TBMs are the largest ever used for rail tunnels in India. A 6-km stretch from Vikhroli to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) will be excavated using these machines.

The project covers Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. It will have 12 stations, including Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad.

Foundation work is complete at eight Gujarat stations. Work is progressing at stations in Maharashtra, with BKC station excavation nearly 91% done.Seventeen river bridges have been completed so far.

Major bridges over the Narmada, Mahi, Tapti, and Sabarmati rivers are in advanced stages.Train sets are being developed indigenously by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, and BEML, Bengaluru, under the Make in India initiative.