Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor: Trains to zip through Zaroli tunnel at 350 kmph

In a noteworthy achievement, engineers have successfully finished constructing the inaugural mountain tunnel along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor, enabling trains to travel at a remarkable speed of 350 km per hour, according to officials.

The 350-metre-long horse-shoe shape tunnel has been built to perfect alignment in the mountains of Zaroli village near here as even a minor flaw could play spoilsport. On the 508-kilometer line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) intends to construct six additional tunnels that will be connected by cutting-edge Shinkansen trainsets that will be imported from Japan.

What makes us celebrate it is that it is the first tunnel in India through which a train with a speed of 350 kmph will pass, S P Mittal, Chief Project Manager of the Valsad section, told PTI on Thursday.  He said his team did not face a single untoward incident over the entire construction period.

The biggest challenge for us was how to keep the alignment of the tunnel absolutely straight because the bullet train will run at a speed of 350 kmph and a minor alignment flaw can play spoilsport. So every specification has to be followed precisely and you will not find a deviation of even a single millimetre, Mittal said.

According to Mittal, it took more than a year and a large workforce to complete the tunneling work. He also expressed great satisfaction as it happened to be the first mountain tunnel built under his direct supervision. When blasts are carried out for such tunnels, the safety of the workers and people residing in the vicinity are paramount, he said. We took every precaution so that stones, boulders or any other such material did not spread in the nearby area and hurt villagers or our workers, Mittal said.