Overview
- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw set August 15, 2027 as the target for the first passenger service, with a phased rollout starting on the Surat–Bilimora section and subsequent segments opening thereafter.
- The first mountain tunnel on the corridor, the 1.48 km MT-5 between Virar and Boisar in Palghar, achieved its final breakthrough after 18 months of excavation using the drill-and-blast NATM method.
- Officials said the alignment from Thane to Ahmedabad is now largely clear, with the remaining constraint being the undersea stretch between Mumbai and Thane.
- The 508 km Shinkansen-based corridor will feature 12 stations and trains designed for 320 km/h operation, with initial peak-hour services planned every 15–20 minutes and scope to increase frequency to 10 minutes based on demand.
- Construction progress includes 326 km of viaducts completed out of roughly 465 km planned on elevated structures, and a 5 km underground tunnel between Thane and BKC finished in September 2025.