Buoyed by the ridership on two routes of Pune Metro rail, the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has expedited the construction work of the 23.203-km-long Metro Line 3 project.
The Pune Metro Line 3 connects the bustling IT hub of Hinjewadi, with the central business district of Shivajinagar, with 23 stations on the way connecting Baner Road, Balewadi, Aundh and Pune University.
“The civil work of Metro line 3 from Maan to Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar is going on in full swing. Around 40 per cent of the work has been completed so far and we are speeding up the work. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has recently reviewed the project and gave directions to expedite the project,” said PMRDA Commissioner Rahul Mahiwal.
PPP Mode
The Metro Line 3 is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project and is being developed on Design, build, finance, operate & transfer (DBFOT) model by Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited (PITCMRL) – a joint venture of Tata Group’s TRIL Urban Transport Private Limited (TUTPL) and Siemens Project Ventures.
Estimated to cost Rs 8,100 crore, the fully elevated Metro project has a concession period of 35 years, including the construction period.
The project’s contract was formalized on 21 September 2019, with the plan to commence operations by March 2023. However, due to land acquisition hurdles, the implementing agency was appointed only on 25 November 2021, with actual work starting only in December 2021.
Consequently, considering the original 40-month completion timeline, the revised projection for operational readiness is March 2025.
Connection To Phase 1
The Metro line will traverse the 23.3 km distance in under 40 minutes, connecting the Mann metro depot through Hinjewadi Park to Civil Court in Shivajinagar.
Currently, this route takes over an hour to traverse by road and the opening of the metro service will help ease the major traffic problem on the roads heading to Hinjewadi.
Also, the Metro Line 3 will connect the Civil Court interchange station with a skywalk from where the passengers will be able to commute on the existing north-south corridor (Purple line) and east-west corridor (Aqua line).
The 17.5 -km Purple line from Pimpri Chinchwad to Swargate and 15.7-km Aqua line from Vanaz to Ramwadi are partially operational and would be fully operational by this year-end.