Second TBM begins excavating India’s first undersea tunnel
2 min learnUp to date: Jul 18, 2026 07:11 PM IST
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet practice venture newest replace: The Nationwide Excessive Velocity Rail Company Restricted (NHSRCL) on Saturday mentioned the second Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) has began excavation work from Sawli (Ghansoli) in the direction of Vikhroli in Maharashtra for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet practice venture. Of the 10-km tunnel part, 7 km will cross beneath Thane Creek, making it the nation’s first undersea tunnel for a railway hall.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet practice venture: Second TBM begins undersea tunnel work (Picture: NHSRCL)
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Excessive Velocity Rail (MAHSR) hall features a 21-km-long underground tunnel between Sawli (Ghansoli) and Bandra Kurla Complicated (BKC) in mumbai. The tunnel is being constructed utilizing Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). The primary TBM started its 6-km drive from Vikhroli in the direction of BKC on July 5, 2026while the remaining 5-km part has already been accomplished utilizing the New Austrian Tunnelling Methodology (NATM).
Tunnel Boring Machine deployed for India’s first bullet practice venture
Based on NHSRCL, this TBM is among the many largest machines ever deployed for railway tunnel development in India. It has a 13.6-metre-diameter cutterhead, concerning the top of a four-storey constructing, weighs round 3,200 tonnes, equal to just about 500 Asian elephants, and is 96 metres lengthy, nearly the size of a soccer area.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet practice venture: Second TBM begins undersea tunnel work (Picture: NHSRCL)
“The machine contains a number of key parts, together with the cutter wheel/head, essential bearing, jaw crusher, erector, essential protect, tail protect, and 4 specialised gantries that assist tunnelling operations.
The machine is configured as a Mixshield kind, semi-automatic, slurry-based TBM. The Mixshield technique makes use of a pressurized liquid bentonite slurry circuit to actively stabilize the tunnel face throughout excavation, offering a extremely dependable and confirmed expertise for driving by advanced and difficult geological situations,” it mentioned.
