- A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through the surrounding soil, earth or rock and enclosed except for its entrance and exit, commonly one at each end.
- Tunnels matter most in India where terrain or snow closes the surface route: under the Himalayan passes, through the Western Ghats on the Konkan line and the hills of the north-east.
- In January 2026 the government counted over 200 km of tunnels complete, with over 40 km more under way, across its strategic road and rail projects.
Road Tunnels
Himalayan Road Tunnels
- These tunnels answer the same problem: high passes close for months, so strategic roads go under them to stay open all year.
- The Jammu–Srinagar road (NH-44) has three in sequence. The Srinagar–Leh axis (NH-1) is getting two.
| Tunnel | Location | Length | Position (date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel (Chenani–Nashri) | Udhampur–Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir; NH-44 | 9.28 km | Opened April 2017; cuts about 30 km; longest road tunnel in service in India (2026 listing) |
| Atal Tunnel | Under Rohtang, Himachal Pradesh; Manali–Lahaul, NH-3 | 9.02 km | Opened October 2020; world’s longest highway tunnel above 10,000 ft; saves 46 km on Manali–Sarchu |
| Banihal–Qazigund Road Tunnel | Under the Banihal Pass, Jammu and Kashmir; NH-44 | 8.45 km | Open to traffic on trial from August 2021 |
| Jawahar Tunnel | Under the Banihal Pass, Jammu and Kashmir | About 2.85 km | Opened December 1956 |
| Sonamarg (Z-Morh) Tunnel | Gagangir to Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir | About 6.4–6.5 km | Inaugurated 13 January 2025 |
| Zojila (Zoji-la) Tunnel | Under Zoji La, Sonamarg to the Dras side, Ladakh road | About 13.15 km | Breakthrough 9 June 2026; opening targeted for February 2028 |
| Sela Tunnel | Under Se La, West Kameng–Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh | Two tunnels, of about 1 km and 1.6 km | Dedicated 9 March 2024, at about 13,000 ft |
| Shinku La Tunnel | Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road, Himachal Pradesh–Ladakh | About 4.1 km | Under construction; target 2028 |
- Zojila is expected to pass Chenani–Nashri as India’s longest road tunnel once it opens.
- Atal Tunnel, Sela and the frontier road work of the Border Roads Organisation belong to one strategy, which began with Jawahar Tunnel in 1956.
Other Road Tunnels
| Tunnel | Location | Length | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Katraj Tunnel | Katraj Ghat, Pune, Maharashtra; NH-48 | About 1.2 km | Takes the Pune–Bengaluru road under the ghat |
| Jaipur Tunnel | Ghat ki Guni, Jaipur, Rajasthan | – | Carries the Jaipur–Agra road through the Aravalli hills |
| Kuthiran Tunnel | Thrissur, Keralam (Kerala); NH-544 | Twin tubes: 955 m and 944 m | Keralam’s first road tunnel; tubes opened 31 July 2021 and 20 January 2022 |
| Sonapur Tunnel | Meghalaya | 120 m | Cut-and-cover, landslide-proof tunnel built by the Border Roads Organisation (2008) |
| Anakkampoyil–Kalladi–Meppadi Tunnel | Western Ghats, Kozhikode to Wayanad, Keralam | Twin tubes: about 8.11 km | Foundation laid 31 August 2025; a landslip at the Kalladi site on 7 July 2026 caused deaths, and expert safety reports were awaited on 24 October 2026 |
Rail Tunnels
Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla and Himalayan Lines
| Tunnel | Section | Length | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunnel T-50 | Khari–Sumber, Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir | 12.775 km | 2024; longest in service on the railways (2026 listing) |
| Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel (Banihal Tunnel) | Banihal–Hillar Shahabad, near Qazigund, Jammu and Kashmir | 11.215 km | 2013 |
| Sangaldan Tunnel | Katra–Banihal section, Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir | About 7.1 km; the adjoining T-49, Sangaldan–Sumber, is 10.178 km | 2024 for T-49 |
| Sangar (T-4) | Sangar–Manwal, Jammu and Kashmir | 2.454 km | 2005 |
- The Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla line was commissioned in June 2025, and these tunnels carry it through the Pir Panjal.
- Tunnel 8 (Devprayag–Janasu), on the Rishikesh–Karnaprayag line in Uttarakhand, is 14.57 km. Its breakthrough came on 16 April 2025, and the line’s deadline is December 2028. It will be the longest on the railways when it opens.
Konkan and Western Ghats Lines
| Tunnel | Section | Length | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karbude (T-35) | Ukshi–Bhoke | 6.506 km | Maharashtra |
| Nathuwadi (T-6) | Vinhere–Diwankhavati | 4.389 km | Maharashtra |
| Tike (T-39) | Ratnagiri–Nivasar | 4.077 km | Maharashtra |
| Berdewadi (T-49) | Adavali–Vilavade | 4.000 km | Maharashtra |
| Savarde (T-17) | Kamathe–Sawarda | 3.429 km | Maharashtra |
| Barcem (T-73) | Balli–Canacona | 3.343 km | Goa |
| Karwar (T-80) | Karwar–Harwada | 2.950 km | Karnataka |
| Honnavar (T-84) | Harwada–Ankola | 2.830 km | Karnataka |
| Parchuri (T-27) | Sangameshwar–Ukshi | 2.552 km | Maharashtra |
| Aravali (T-21) | Aravali–Sangameshwar | 2.161 km | Maharashtra |
| Chiplun (T-16) | Chiplun–Kamathe | 2.116 km | Maharashtra |
| Chowk (T-3) | Panvel–Karjat, Central Railway | 2.628 km | Maharashtra |
| Monkey Hill (T-25C) | Karjat–Khandala, Bhor Ghat, Central Railway | 2.304 km | Maharashtra |
| Parsik Tunnel | Thane–Mumbra, Central Railway | 1.681 km | Maharashtra; opened 1916 |
- Every entry from Karbude to Chiplun lies on the Konkan Railway, opened in 1997–98, which cuts through the spurs of the Western Ghats.
- Karbude, near Ratnagiri, was long its longest tunnel, at about 6.5 km.
North-East Lines
| Tunnel | Section | Length | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borail BG (T-10) | Jatinga Lampur–Halflong Hill | 3.235 km | Assam |
| Khowai (T-2) | Mungiakami–Shambuhari | 2.500 km | Tripura |
| Tamelong (T-8) | Vangaichungpao–Tamenglong | 2.052 km | Manipur |
| Longtarai MG (T-13) | Lower Haflong–Ditokcherra, metre gauge line | 1.994 km | Assam; 1903 |
| Thizama BG (T-8) | Thizama–Zubza | 1.849 km | Nagaland |
Peninsular and Central Lines
| Tunnel | Section | Length | State or year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapuru (P-4) | Vellikallu–Cherlopalli, Krishnapatnam line | 6.642 km | Andhra Pradesh; 2019 |
| Maliguda Tunnel | Kothavalasa–Kirandul line, Koraput | 4.42 km | Odisha |
| Bogada Tunnel | Dorabhavi–Diguvametta, Nallamala hills | 1.600 km | Andhra Pradesh; 1936 |
| Borra Tunnel | Araku–Borraguhalu, Kothavalasa–Kirandul line | 1.369 km | Andhra Pradesh; 1957 |
| Laxmipur Tunnel | Laxmipur–Singaram, Kothavalasa–Kirandul line | 1.296 km | Odisha; 1957 |
| Saranda (T-1, T-2 and T-3) | Goilkera–Mahadevsal | T-1 and T-2: 1.521 km; T-3: 1.600 km | Jharkhand |
| Gurpa Tunnel | Gurpa–Gujhandi | 1.444 km | Jharkhand; 1916 |
| Zhobo Tunnel | Mesra–Sidhwar | 1.225 km | Jharkhand; 2020 |
| Darakhoh–Maramjhiri Tunnel | Darakhoh–Maramjhiri, Satpura hills | 1.165 km | Madhya Pradesh |
| Budhni Tunnel | Budhni–Barkheda, Vindhyan scarp | 1.089 km | Madhya Pradesh |
| Bhanwar Tonk Tunnel | Kargi Road–Bhanwar Tonk | 1.024 km | Chhattisgarh; 1907 |
| Jahangirwadi Nagbodhi | – | – | – |
- Older hill lines carried tunnels long before these. The Kalka–Shimla line (1903) has 103 tunnels, the longest 1,144 m, over its 96.6 km.
Rail Tunnels in Progress
| Tunnel | Location | Length | Position (date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patalpani Rail Tunnel | Mhow–Khandwa conversion, Indore, Madhya Pradesh | About 21 tunnels in the ghat, the largest about 4 km | Tunnel work had not begun in the Patalpani stretch by 16 July 2026 |
| Trivandrum Port Tunnel | Vizhinjam–Balaramapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam | About 9.4 km | Tender stage in 2026; target December 2028 |
Natural and Special Tunnels
- Punarjani Guha is a natural tunnel, about 150 m long in a rock cliff at Thiruvilwamala, Thrissur district, Keralam.
- It lies about 2 km from the Vilwadrinatha temple. Devotees crawl through it once a year, on Guruvayur Ekadasi.
- The Hooghly underwater metro tunnel in Kolkata, commissioned in 2024, was India’s first underwater metro tunnel.
- The Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail line has a 21 km tunnel between Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata, with about 7 km under Thane Creek, India’s first undersea rail tunnel. The 4.88 km section between Ghansoli and Shilphata saw its breakthrough in September 2025.
Previous Year Questions
2023Map item: Sela Tunnel2020Map item: Atal Tunnel
