Palghar, Feb. 3 -- A major breakthrough is set to be achieved in the second mountain tunnel in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Tuesday. This tunnel is 454 meters long and 14.4 meters wide, and it will accommodate both the 'up' and 'down' tracks for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project.

This will be the second tunnel breakthrough in Palghar district for the Bullet Train project in a single month; the first was at MT-5 near Safale on January 2, 2026. The excavation of the mountain tunnel (MT-6) has been carried out from both ends using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), which is a modern controlled drill-and-blast method. The excavation was completed in 12 months.

The NATM method is preferred for complex geographical condi...