The Ministry of Railways in New Delhi has unveiled the first look of India's proposed bullet train set that will run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. A pictorial display of the high-speed train design has been installed at Gate Number four of the ministry building. The ministry displayed the image to offer a public glimpse of the ambitious project.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor is scheduled to open on August 15, 2027, and the service is expected to cut journey time between the cities to about two hours. The project is planned to become India’s first high-speed rail service and has been presented as a flagship transport initiative. The unveiling followed a statement from Indian Railways and coverage by agencies.

The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited reported that the first Tunnel Boring Machine cutterhead has been lowered at Vikhroli in Mumbai for the construction of a tunnel on the corridor. The cutterhead has a 13.6-metre diameter and weighed 350 tonne (t) when it was lowered, marking the final stage in the primary assembly of the TBM main shield. Two TBMs, each weighing over 3,000 t, are being assembled for a 16-km section of the 21-km Mumbai tunnel.

The stretch includes a seven-km undersea tunnel beneath Thane Creek, which will be the country’s first undersea rail tunnel when completed. A Vikhroli to Bandra Kurla Complex section of about six-km will be excavated using the TBM through densely populated urban areas and beneath the Mithi river. The cutterhead component arrived in five shipments and was assembled using around 1,600 kilogram (kg) of high-precision welding.

Officials described the TBMs as the largest machines deployed so far for rail tunnel construction in the country and noted that the cutterhead is designed to excavate a single tunnel wide enough for both up and down lines. Construction milestones and the public display aim to maintain momentum as the corridor moves towards its planned launch.