Mumbai: The cutterhead for the second Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project was lowered at Sawli (Ghansoli) near Mumbai, marking another milestone in the construction
of the 21-kilometre tunnel section of the high-speed rail corridor. The development comes days after the cutterhead for the first TBM was lowered at Vikhroli earlier this week.
The second TBM will begin its tunnelling journey from Sawli (Ghansoli) and move towards Vikhroli as part of the underground section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project. Officials said both TBMs will now undergo final assembly and commissioning trials before commencing their initial tunnelling drive in the first week of July 2026.
The cutterhead, measuring 13.6 metres in diameter and weighing approximately 350 tonnes, forms a critical component of the TBM's main shield assembly. It is engineered to excavate a single tunnel structure designed to accommodate both up and down lines of the high-speed rail corridor.
According to project officials, the cutterhead has been equipped with 84 cutter discs, 124 scrapers and 16 bucket lips to efficiently cut through ground material and remove excavated muck during tunnelling operations.
Two TBMs have been received for the underground section of the project. TBM 1 weighs 3,080 tonnes while TBM 2 weighs 3,184 tonnes. Both machines are Mix Shield or Slurry-based TBMs and feature a cutterhead diameter of 13.6 metres.
Each machine stretches 95.32 metres in total length and consists of multiple key components, including the cutter wheel, main bearing, jaw crusher, erector, main shield, tail shield and four specialised gantries that support tunnelling activities.
Project authorities said the TBMs are capable of operating at a maximum cutterhead speed of four revolutions per minute (RPM), with an excavation capacity of up to 49 millimetres per minute. The system has been designed to facilitate steady tunnelling progress while maintaining operational safety standards.
The lowering of the second cutterhead marks the final stage in the primary assembly of the TBM's main shield and represents another major engineering milestone for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor, one of India's most ambitious transport infrastructure projects.
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