Two weeks after work on the underground Mumbai bullet train station was finalised, the construction of India’s first undersea tunnel, at 21 km, between Shilphata and Vikhroli, for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, is set to commence.

“This is the first time that a tunnel for a high-speed railway will be opened anywhere in India. It will be located between the underground station at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Shilphata near Kalyan,” an official said. The approximately seven-km-long single-tube undersea tunnel at Thane creek (inter-tidal zone) will accommodate twin tracks. It will also have 39 equipment rooms at 37 locations to be constructed adjoining the tunnel location.