Pune Metro fails to chug at top speed

Pune: After the launch of the 12km Metro priority stretch on March 6, 2022, it was expected that the work on the remaining 21 km from Phase 1 will be completed at full tilt. However, even after one year of inauguration, the Pune Metro has not been extended.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the priority stretch of the Metro - Vanaz to Garware (5 km) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to Phugewadi (7 km), people have been expecting the Metro to expand soon, but the process has stalled, and people are now waiting for the first phase to be completed.

By March 2023, the PCMC-Swargate corridor 1 with elevated and underground stations and the Vanaz-Ramwadi corridor 2 with fully elevated stations were expected to be completed.

However, the station’s work is not yet complete. MahaMetro has now extended the deadline until December 20, 2023. Phase 1’s initial deadline was December 2022.

Atul Gadgil, executive director of the Pune Metro had said in December 2022, “Delay has occurred due to multiple reasons - firstly the land acquisition process for Kasba Peth station and Mandai Metro station delayed the things and thereafter many contractors leaving in between of projects so the procedure of appointing new contractors took time. Manpower shortages have also caused significant delays in expediting Metro construction.”

The Metro station was packed with passengers in March 2022, but when an HT reporter visited on March 4, 2023, it was quite deserted.

“Because the Metro isn’t expanding, commuters aren’t using it regularly. The Metro will only gain more passengers once the route is expanded; until then, people will not prefer it. I live near the Garware College station and have to go to PMC for work every day, but I don’t have a Metro, so I have to take the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) bus, which has irregular timings,” said Shilpa Kapse, an IT Professional.

The MahaMetro had also started a PMPML feeder service, but it was discontinued because of a stunted response.

“The Metro-PMPML feeder service bus is hardly occupied. Most of the time, it carried only 10-15 passengers per ferry,” said a PMPML driver, who requested anonymity.

Reacting to the year, Maha-Metro public relations officer Hemant Sonawane, said, “Basically, it’s a great year for MahaMetro. We got a great response at first, then it stabilised and we finished all of the tunnelling work. Work on all Metro stations (i.e., the remaining stations after inauguration) has begun, and work on all stations is in full swing.”