India’s Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project moves into a key execution phase for the Mumbai underground section, with the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) set to begin excavation after its planned launch on Sunday, July 5. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is scheduled to launch the TBM at the Vikhroli shaft, from where it will tunnel towards Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The project segment covers 21 km of underground work, including a 7 km undersea rail tunnel beneath Thane Creek. The TBM has a 13.6-metre diameter and weighs over 3,000 tonnes, and it is assembled at the Vikhroli site after a 350-tonne cutterhead was lowered into the shaft.
Sources also report that tunnelling is expected to continue during the monsoon at a planned speed, with the machine designed for safe operation in rainy conditions. The project involves using a large-diameter tunnelling approach that enables both the up and down tracks to run through a single tunnel. A second TBM is being assembled at the Ghansoli shaft and is expected to start excavation by the end of July, which officials say should increase the pace of underground construction. The work is described as technically challenging, with monitoring planned for structures along the route.