Overview
- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually witnessed the final breakthrough of the 1.48‑km MT‑5 tunnel in Palghar between Virar and Boisar, completed in about 18 months using the drill‑and‑blast NATM method.
- Vaishnaw set a target for the first service on August 15, 2027 and outlined a phased rollout starting with Surat–Bilimora, followed by Vapi–Surat, Vapi–Ahmedabad, Thane–Ahmedabad, and finally Mumbai–Ahmedabad.
- The ministry said operations are planned every 15–20 minutes during peak hours at launch, with potential to move to 10‑minute headways based on demand.
- The 508‑km corridor with 12 stations is designed for 320 km/h service and is expected to cut Mumbai–Ahmedabad travel to roughly two hours.
- NHSRCL reports more than 85% of the route on viaducts with 326 km completed, several major bridges in place, and continuing works supported by Japanese financing through JICA.