Indian Railways (IR) is undergoing a significant transformation, with a focus on capacity expansion, infrastructure upgradation and modernisation of rail operations. At the heart of this transformation stands India’s first bullet train project – the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail (MAHSR) corridor, which, once commissioned, will mark a significant step in India’s transition towards modern, world-class, efficient and technologically advanced transportation. The government has already proposed seven new high-speed rail (HSR) corridors under Union Budget 2026-27, signalling its broader vision of creating an HSR grid connecting the country’s major economic centres.
MAHSR – Current status and timelines
The first under-construction corridor aims to connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Implemented by National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the project is being developed with significant financial and technical assistance from Japan. The project spans an area of 508 km, comprising 348 km in Gujarat, 156 km in Maharashtra and 4 km in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The corridor will have 12 stations – eight (Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati) will be in Gujarat, while the remaining four (Mumbai, Thane, Virar and Boisar) will be in Maharashtra.
The trains will operate at speeds of up to 320 km per hour using Japan’s Shinkansen technology, reducing the total travel time to about 2 hours 7 minutes. IR has awarded a contract for the manufacturing of two high-speed, eight-car train sets to Bharat Earth Movers Limited. The project will consist of three rolling stock depots at Sabarmati and Surat in Gujarat, and Thane in Maharashtra.
The project has a combined tunnel length of 27.4 km. Of this, 21 km is an underground tunnel between the Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in Maharashtra, including India’s first 7 km long undersea tunnel under Thane Creek; and 6.4 km comprises eight mountain tunnels, with seven spanning 6.05 km in Maharashtra, and one tunnel of 350 metres located in Gujarat.
While the initial years saw slow development, over the past few years, substantial progress has been made on civil works, including viaduct construction, pier foundations and station development, particularly in Gujarat. As of January 2026, 334 km of viaduct installation, 415 km of pier work, 17 river bridges and five prestressed concrete bridges, and 292 track km of reinforced concrete track bed construction have been completed. About 4,800 overhead electrification masts have been installed, covering approximately 111 route km of the mainline viaduct. The masts will support a 2×25 kV overhead traction power system, including overhead wires, earthing arrangements, fittings and other accessories required for bullet train operations. Further, over 490,000 noise barriers have been installed along a 245 km stretch to mitigate the noise generated by the trains and civil structures during operations.
The MAHSR project is scheduled for full completion by 2029. Phase-wise, the 50 km long Surat-Bilimora stretch in Gujarat will be the first to be opened (by August 2027), followed by the Vapi-Surat, Vapi-Ahmedabad, Thane-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Ahmedabad stretches.
Update on new corridors
IR has planned seven new HSR corridors, covering 4,000 km, with expected investments of around Rs 16 trillion. These are the Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri corridors. The Chennai-Bengaluru-Hyderabad high-speed network will form a high-speed triangle (or diamond) in the south, connecting major economic and IT hubs.
So far, the survey work for the 864 km long Bengaluru-Amravati corridor (via Chittor and Tirupati) has been completed, with the project estimated to cost Rs 1.9 trillion.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has been appointed to formulate the detailed project report for the 465 km long Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur corridor.
NHSRCL also invited bids for the final alignment design of the 240 km long Amritsar-Jammu HSR corridor in November 2025.
The way forward
Over the years, MAHSR has faced significant execution delays and cost escalations for various reasons. Land acquisition was a major bottleneck, initially. Further, high capital costs, long gestation periods, cumbersome clearances and evolving ridership assumptions continue to shape implementation timelines. Consequently, the estimated cost of the project is likely to escalate from Rs 1.08 trillion to Rs 1.98 trillion.
Going forward, balancing technological ambition with fiscal prudence will be critical for the success of future corridors. If implemented effectively, HSR can redefine intercity mobility in India, reduce aviation congestion on short-haul routes and catalyse regional economic transformation.
