With the first phase of Pune Metro nearing completion, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has granted its approval to proceed with the second phase of the Pune metro rail project.
In the second phase, metro network will be increased by 82.5 km, from Khadakwasla to Kharadi via Swargate and Hadapsar, Paudphata to Manikbaug via Warje, Ramwadi to Wagholi, and Vanaz to Chandni Chowk.
The detailed project report (DPR) for the extended route which is completely elevated has been prepared by the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (Maha-Metro). It was first submitted in September 2022 to PMC for approval, but later it was revised and again sent for approval of the civic body, which approved the DPR along with the funding pattern last Friday.
The 25.862 km long Khadakwasla-Swargate-Hadapsar-Kharadi metro rail link, and the 6.118 km Paudphata-Warje-Manikbaug route will cost Rs 9,074.24 crore.
To fund this endeavor, Maha Metro will secure a loan of Rs 4,354.84 crore, with the remaining cost to be shared by the Centre, State government, and PMC.
Similarly, Vanaz to Chandni chowk route of 1.112 km and Ramwadi to Wagholi route of 11.633 km will cost Rs 3,609.27 crore for which Rs 1,895 crore loan will be raised by Maha-Metro while Centre and State will also contribute towards the project.
Also, Maha-Metro will oversee the development of the extended route, and the PMC will not provide any loan guarantee for the funding required to establish the extended Pune metro route. The PMC, on its part, will incorporate both the metro rail route and its associated station into the city’s development plan.
First Phase
The first phase of the Pune Metro Rail Project consists of two corridors, north-south corridor (Purple line) and east-west corridor (Aqua line), with a total length of 33.2 km and 30 stations.
The 17.5-km-long north-south (NS) corridor from PCMC to Swargate has 14 stations. It passes through the industrial area of Pimpri-Chinchwad and further into old Peth areas of the Pune city.
The north-south corridor includes a 11.4-km-long elevated stretch and a 6.1-km underground section between Range Hills and Swargate.
The fully elevated East-West (EW) corridor starts from Vanaz Depot in east and goes upto Ramwadi. There are a total of 16 stations on this stretch and total length of this corridor is 15.7 km.
Pune Metro has two maintenance depots for up keep of trains. The depot on NS corridor at Range Hills is named as Range Hills car depot and the depot on EW corridor at Vanaz is named as Hill View Park car depot.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of Pune Metro on 23 December 2018. The first two sections of the project — PCMC to Phugewadi (7km) on NS corridor and Vanaz to Garware College (5km) — on the EW corridor were also launched by Modi on 6 March 2022.
Subsequently, the 6.9 km Phugewadi to Civil Court route and 4.7km-long Garware College to Ruby Hall Clinic route were also inaugurated by Modi on last Tuesday, 1 August 2023.