Powerhouse machines at Surat Bullet Train Station. (Via: NHSRCL)
India’s first high-speed rail corridor has crossed another construction milestone, with 365 km of viaduct completed and more than 9,100 overhead electrification masts installed, according to the August 2026 progress report of the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
The 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) line is being built to run trains at up to 320 kmph. Officials say the first public run is planned in August 2027 on the Surat-Vapi section. The full corridor is targeted for completion by December 2029.
Where the project stands now
NHSRCL’s August 2026 report puts the latest physical numbers as follows:
– 365 km of viaduct completed
– 455 km of pier work completed
– 299 km of noise barriers installed
– 15 steel bridges and 17 river bridges completed
– four mountain tunnels excavated
– 5 km of tunnel work done using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method
– 222 km of reinforced concrete track bed completed
– 98 km of track slabs laid with CAM injection
– more than 9,100 OHE masts installed across 203 km
These figures are higher than the July 2026 numbers shared in Parliament, when pier work stood at 452 km, girder work at 356 km, track bed at 209 km and OHE masts at 190 km. That earlier update also said all civil works on the official 97-km Surat-Vapi section, including river bridges, had been completed and that 86 per cent of the track bed on that stretch had been laid.
A separate government monitoring report for July 2026 put overall physical progress at 62.16 per cent. About Rs 90,967 crore had been spent by then on a project officially estimated at around Rs 1.08 lakh crore. Some later reports have said the final cost could rise towards Rs 2 lakh crore. That higher figure has not been issued as a revised official sanction in the updates reviewed here.
Land required for the corridor, about 1,389.5 hectares, has been acquired. Officials say all statutory clearances are in place and 1,651 utilities have been shifted.
When the first train is expected to run
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said construction of the Vapi-Surat section is targeted for completion by December 2026. Testing would follow after that. He has said the inaugural run in August 2027 will cover about 100 km between Surat and Vapi. Official project notes list that section as 97 km. The Surat-Bilimora stretch has separately been described as the first section expected to open for service in 2027.
The minister has said the full Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is targeted for December 2029. Officials have also said the final date depends on the remaining civil, track, electrical, signalling and trainset work.
The corridor is expected to open in phases. One official description of that sequence is Vapi-Surat first, then Vapi-Ahmedabad, then Thane-Ahmedabad, and finally the full Mumbai-Ahmedabad route.
What the train will look like and who will build it
The first operations on Surat-Vapi are planned with India’s indigenous B28 high-speed trainset, often called the Bharat-made bullet train. The train is designed for a maximum test speed of 280 kmph. BEML is manufacturing it at the Aditya High-Speed Rail Complex in Bengaluru. The first body frame has been completed and sent for structural testing. Track trials are expected around May-June 2027.
On 18 September 2026, BEML said it had received an order worth more than Rs 5,400 crore from NHSRCL for the supply and maintenance of high-speed rolling stock and allied works on the corridor. The Japanese E10 Shinkansen series remains part of the longer-term rolling stock plan.
Route, stations and travel time
The line will run about 508 km from Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai to Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. It passes through Maharashtra, Gujarat and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Nearly 90 per cent of the alignment is elevated. The rest includes tunnels, bridges and station areas. A 21-km tunnel on the Mumbai side includes an undersea stretch under Thane Creek.
Twelve stations are planned:
1. Mumbai (BKC)
2. Thane
3. Virar
4. Boisar
5. Vapi
6. Bilimora
7. Surat
8. Bharuch
9. Vadodara
10. Anand
11. Ahmedabad
12. Sabarmati
Trains are designed for 350 kmph and planned to operate commercially at up to 320 kmph. Vaishnaw has said the Mumbai-Ahmedabad journey will take 1 hour 58 minutes with four stops, and 2 hours 17 minutes if the train stops at all 12 stations. The same trip on conventional trains still takes more than five and a half hours even on the fastest services.
How the line is being powered
The corridor will use India’s first 2×25 kV high-speed overhead traction system, designed for 320 kmph operations. Power will come from the national grid through traction substations along the route. More than 20,000 OHE masts are planned in all. The 9,100-plus masts already erected cover 203 km.
What this means
The project began in 2017 and missed its original 2023 target, mainly because of land acquisition delays in Maharashtra. Work has since picked up. Gujarat is ahead on stations and civil structures. Structural work is complete at Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Bharuch, with finishing and track work under way. Track work has also started at Surat, Bilimora and Bharuch. Maharashtra is now moving faster on piers, stations and the long tunnel package.
The next milestones are to finish Vapi-Surat construction by December 2026, start train trials around May-June 2027, and open the first passenger stretch in August 2027. If that schedule holds, service would begin a little more than two years before the full Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor’s December 2029 target.
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