Premium

Panvel Karjat suburban corridor 85% complete, likely to be opened in December

A key engineering feature of the project is the 2.639 km Wawarie tunnel, set to become Mumbai’s longest suburban railway tunnel, surpassing the Parsik tunnel.

3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Feb 25, 2026 05:20 PM IST

Civil works along the alignment are largely complete.

The 29.6 km double line Panvel Karjat suburban rail corridor under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase III has reached 85 percent physical completion by July, likely to be opened in December, officials said. The Rs 2782 crore project is being executed by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation to boost suburban rail capacity in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

“With 85 percent of the work completed, we are progressing towards project completion by June or July 2026,” said Sunil Udasi, Chief Public Relations Officer of MRVC.

The new corridor will link Panvel in Navi Mumbai with Karjat in Raigad district through five stations Panvel, Chikhle, Poyanje Mahope, Chowk and Karjat. It will integrate with the Central Railway network and offer an alternative suburban route between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Karjat. The line is expected to ease congestion on the heavily saturated Kalyan junction stretch and reduce pressure on the central main line.

A key engineering feature of the project is the 2.639 km Wawarie tunnel, set to become Mumbai’s longest suburban railway tunnel, surpassing the Parsik tunnel. The corridor includes three tunnels Nadhal 234 metres, Kirawali 333 metres and Wawarie 2639 metres with a total underground excavation length of 3206 metres.

Built using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method, excavation of the Wawarie tunnel began on February 22, 2023, with breakthrough achieved in June 2024. The tunnel has an internal height of 7.323 metres and a width of 13.282 metres. Nearly 24 lakh man hours were spent over 16 months to cut through the Sahyadri hill terrain under continuous geological monitoring and controlled blasting.

Civil works along the alignment are largely complete. The project includes eight major bridges, 32 minor bridges, five road over bridges and 15 road under bridges, including a crucial underpass beneath the Pune Expressway. Two rail flyovers at Panvel and Karjat junctions are in the final stages, with track linking work pending. Drainage lines stretching 18488 metres, along with an aqueduct, subways and service buildings, have also been completed.

Once operational, the corridor is expected to significantly decongest the central main line and cut travel time by 20 to 25 minutes for commuters currently routing through Kalyan.

Story continues below this ad

PANVEL KARJAT SUBURBAN CORRIDOR AT A GLANCE

Project Length
29.6 km double line

Project Cost
Rs 2782 crore

Executing Agency
Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation

Completion Status
85 percent complete as of February 2026

Expected Commissioning
June to July 2026

Stations on Corridor
Panvel
Chikhle
Poyanje Mahope
Chowk
Karjat

WAWARIE TUNNEL KEY FACTS

Length
2.639 km

Total Tunnels on Corridor
3

Combined Tunnel Length
3206 metres

Internal Height
7.323 metres

Internal Width
13.282 metres

Construction Method
New Austrian Tunnelling Method

Terrain
Sahyadri hill section

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Recommendations...

Mar 14: Latest News

Live Blog