Joint Working Group formed to assess feasibility of Shiradi Ghat tunnel project

The Union government has constituted a Joint Working Group (JWG) to assess the feasibility of building an integrated rail and road tunnel in the Shiradi Ghat section of the Western Ghats of Karnataka.

The JWG comprises officials from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Railways, and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

In a letter dated October 29, 2025, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari communicated this to Captain Brijesh Chowta, Member of Parliament, Dakshina Kannada.

Posting the letter on X on November 7, Capt. Chowta wrote, “Delighted to share that our request to address the Mangaluru–Bengaluru connectivity issue has been considered by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari ji. It has been our relentless pursuit to resolve the bottleneck along the Shiradi Ghat stretch between Mangaluru and Bengaluru to ensure faster, safer, and all-weather connectivity … We look forward to all agencies working together at the earliest to ensure our port city is better connected to the State’s capital, enabling a whole era of growth towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat.”

In his July 5, 2025 letter to Mr. Gadkari, the MP had requested that an expert committee be constituted to undertake a joint survey of the Shiradi Ghat stretch in coordination with the Ministry of Railways and to oversee the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR).

Highlighting the ecological sensitivity and engineering complexity of the Western Ghats, Capt. Chowta had emphasised that a joint, expert-led approach would ensure optimal alignment, sustainability, and long-term resilience of the tunnel project.

“This move is a crucial step towards realising the proposed Mangaluru–Bengaluru High-Speed Corridor, for which the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is already under way and is expected to be completed soon,” Capt. Chowta said in a release on Friday.