Pune Metro’s Underground Service from Civil Court to Swargate Set to Commence in September

The much-anticipated underground rail service of Pune Metro connecting Civil Court to Swargate is poised to commence in September, with expectations that construction will wrap up by the end of August. Pune Metro’s executive director, Hemant Sonawane, confirmed the successful completion of trial runs on both lines of the underground rail service. He mentioned that following the completion of construction in August, the railway safety team will inspect and authorize the start of operations.

Launching the underground service marks the completion of Phase 1 of the project, linking Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to Swargate and Vanaz to Ramwadi. While the Vanaz to Ramwadi route is fully operational, the PCMC to Civil Court section is partly functional, pending the completion of the underground stretch. Sonawane also noted that Pune Metro has initiated work on extending the route from PCMC to Nigdi as part of Phase 1.

Regarding future expansions, the decision on extending the route from Swargate to Katraj awaits approval from the Centre. Furthermore, the proposal for Phase 2 of the Pune Metro has been submitted to the Maharashtra government and is awaiting further processing.

On February 6, 2024, Pune Metro conducted a successful trial run on the Civil Court to Swargate stretch, completing the journey in one hour at an average speed of 7.5 km per hour. The distances between stations are 0.85 km from Civil Court to Budhwar Peth, 1 km from Budhwar Peth to Mandai, and 1.48 km from Mandai to Swargate.

Credit: Indian Express