Rural pax group demands introduction of local train services on Pune-Daund route

PUNE: The Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) trains running on the Pune-Daund route have become old and are suffering frequent breakdowns. As a result, daily commuters are facing delay in reaching their destinations on time, causing frustration among them. Therefore, the Rural Railway Passengers’ Association has demanded that the Pune-Daund route be declared a suburban area, and that local train services be introduced on this route. Meanwhile, the association has warned that if the service is not started immediately, a rail blockade will be held at Daund railway station from Wednesday, March 5.

A large number of people travel daily from Daund and the surrounding areas for work, business and education. The number of passengers travelling by train is high. People from places such as Daund, Patas, Kedgaon, Khutbav, Yavat, Uruli, Loni, Manjari and Hadapsar that are very close to Pune, commute daily to industrial and office locations as well as educational institutions in the city. The information technology (IT) hub at Hadapsar-Magarpatta; hospitals, industrial companies; the Serum Institute at Manjari; MIT campus at Loni; Prayag Dham at Uruli; and sugar factories at Yavat, Kurkumbh industrial estate, and Daund municipality are some of the major places that attract a large number of commuters. DEMU train services are available for daily commuters on this route.

Vikas Deshpande, a passenger and member of the Daund-Pune Passengers’ Group, said, “However, this DEMU service is not running efficiently due to frequent technical failures, delays caused by long-distance trains taking priority, and frequent breakdowns. This has severely impacted employees, businesses, and particularly milk transportation which is a major industry in the region. The delays have been causing losses to milk producers. Due to these ongoing issues, there has been a long-standing demand to declare the Pune-Daund route as a suburban area and introduce local train services. However, no action has been taken so far, according to commuters.”

The railway distance between Pune and Daund is 74 kilometres. There are three major stops—Loni, Uruli and Kedgaon—on this route, and the journey takes about one hour-and-fifteen minutes. However, due to technical issues and stoppages caused by other trains, the journey often gets delayed by one-and-a-half to two hours, leading to additional commuting time for passengers. This has been affecting the jobs of employees working in industrial establishments.

“The demand to replace the old DEMU service with local trains on the Pune-Daund route has been made for many years but no action has been taken so far. Therefore, a formal representation has been submitted to the railway authorities, demanding immediate action. If no steps are taken within the next five days, a strong protest will be staged at the Daund railway station,” said another frequent passenger of DEMU trains, Kishore Marane.

Yet another passenger, Meena Jadhav from Yavat, said, “Milk transportation depends on timely delivery but frequent delays in DEMU trains are causing heavy losses. If the milk reaches late, it starts spoiling and we have no choice but to sell it at lower prices. We have been demanding a local train for years but no action has been taken.”