mid-day.com got a special preview of India’s two 13.34-metre diameter Herrenknecht slurry shield tunnel boring machines — ‘Nayak’ and ‘Arjuna’ — ahead of their launch at the Thane Manpada site. ‘Nayak’, the first to be deployed, is set to begin boring on April 6 for the 11.84-km Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project beneath Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Once completed, the tunnels will cut travel time between Thane and Borivali to just 15 minutes. PICS/ASHISH RAJE
Updated On: 2026-04-04 08:06 PM IST
Compiled by : Divya Nair
The powerful Herrenknecht slurry shield TBM 'Nayak' will bore through the rocky terrain beneath Sanjay Gandhi National Park as part of the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project
Mumbai's infrastructure push gets a major boost with the imminent launch of the massive TBM 'Nayak' for the east-west connectivity corridor
The giant 13.34-metre TBM 'Arjuna' stands ready at Thane Manpada, set to be launched on Monday for the 11.84-km Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project that will slash travel time between Thane and Borivali to just 15 minutes
The Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel is India's longest urban road tunnel project, with a total length of 11.84 km
The project is being implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). It consists of two parallel three-lane tunnels (one in each direction) with a dedicated emergency lane and cross-passages every 300 metres for safety
The tunnels will connect Manpada (Ghodbunder Road) in Thane to Ekta Nagar (Magathane) in Borivali, passing beneath the eco-sensitive Sanjay Gandhi National Park at a depth of around 23 metres
The team behind tunnel boring machines ‘Arjuna’ and ‘Nayak’, which are set to be launched at the Thane Manpada site on Friday
The estimated project cost is approximately Rs 16,600 crore to Rs 18,838 crore, with work likely to be completed by May 2028
