The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project has achieved 61% physical progress till May 2026, according to the latest government data.
The 508 km corridor, which is India’s first bullet train project, has an original project cost of ₹1,08,000 crore.
The high-speed rail corridor has crossed 61% physical progress, according to the monthly project monitoring flash report of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) for the month of May.
As per the report, ₹90,966.89 crore has been spent so far on India’s first bullet train project connecting two major cities of Mumbai in Maharashtra and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, initially pegged at ₹1.08 lakh crore, is now reportedly estimated to cost around ₹1.98 lakh crore, a significant jump from its original projection, with the revised figure reportedly awaiting final Cabinet approval.
Financing for the project includes low-interest loans of about ₹88,000 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The additional cost on the project will reportedly be borne by the government, with no further funding expected from the Japanese agency.
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The project is being executed by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, a special purpose vehicle set up in 2016 to implement high-speed rail infrastructure in the country.
Progress on the corridor was affected by delays in land acquisition in Maharashtra and disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic.
While operations were earlier planned to begin in 2022, full completion is now targeted by 2029.
Providing an update on timelines, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier in January said the first bullet train service is expected to run on 15 August 2027, starting with the Surat-Bilimora section.
The corridor will be opened in phases, covering the Vapi-Surat, Vapi-Ahmedabad, and Thane-Ahmedabad stretches before the Mumbai-Ahmedabad section becomes operational in the final stage.
The MAHSR corridor spans 352 Km in Gujarat (348 Km) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (4 Km), and 156 Km in Maharashtra.
The 508 km corridor will pass through Gujarat, the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Maharashtra with 12 stations planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati.
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