Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the first section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project will become operational next year, with services set to begin between Surat and Bilimora.Speaking about the progress of India’s flagship bullet train project, Vaishnaw said the construction on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor was advancing at a significant pace and the project would be commissioned in phases.“The project is now under construction between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The Surat-Bilimora stretch will be the first section to become operational next year, marking the beginning of India’s high-speed rail services,” the minister said.Vaishnaw said the remaining sections of the corridor would be opened in a phased manner. According to the planned rollout, operations would be subsequently extended from Vapi to Surat, followed by Vapi to Ahmedabad, then Ahmedabad to Thane, before the entire corridor between Ahmedabad and Mumbai becomes operational.Last week, the Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train project marked a major milestone as the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) commenced excavation from the Vikhroli shaft towards the under-construction Mumbai bullet train station. Of the total 21-km-long underground tunnel section, 16 km between Sawli (Ghansoli) and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai will be constructed using tunnel boring machines.The tunnel boring machine will excavate a six-km-long single-tube tunnel designed to accommodate both up and down tracks of the bullet train. During its journey, the machine will pass beneath dense urban areas, including multi-storeyed buildings, roads, the Mithi river and other critical infrastructure.This TBM features a massive cutterhead with a diameter of 13.6 metres and has a total length of 96 metres. The cutterhead rotates at up to four revolutions per minute (RPM).Besides, the Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also approved seven more bullet train corridors — Mumbai–Pune, Bengaluru–Chennai, Bengaluru–Hyderabad, Pune–Hyderabad, Delhi–Lucknow, Delhi–Varanasi and Delhi–Siliguri — aimed at drastically reducing travel time between major cities.