Mumbai goes underground—for a faster, smoother future.
Fadnavis Unveils Mumbai’s ‘Paatal Lok’: Massive Tunnel Network to Transform City Traffic
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced an ambitious underground tunnel network for Mumbai, calling it the city’s own “Paatal Lok” — a parallel system of subterranean roads aimed at ending decades-long congestion. Speaking at IIMUN’s Youth Connect event, he said the tunnels would function as shadow corridors beneath existing arterial routes, enabling smoother, faster movement across the city. Fadnavis highlighted key ongoing projects, including the Thane–Borivali and Mulund–Goregaon tunnels, expected to significantly boost east–west connectivity. The upcoming Worli–Shivdi connector and a tunnel linking Atal Setu to Girgaon Chowpatty are also in progress, with travel speeds projected to reach 80 km/h. A proposed Bandra–BKC tunnel will further ease airport access, reducing South Mumbai–airport travel time to just 20 minutes. He added that the Mumbai One app now enables unified ticketing across Metro, suburban trains and BEST buses, with all suburban services moving towards full AC transition.