Six years after it was proposed for Nashik, Pune, neo metro project yet to kick off

The neo metro project proposed for Pune six years ago remains on paper as authorities and the executing agency not keen to take it forward.

Minister of state (MoS) for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol during his Pune visit on Monday said, “The neo metro project is not feasible on technical grounds. The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) was to undertake the project in Nashik, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.”

The neo metro project is a trolley bus system with overhead electric traction and rubber tyres. It was proposed to have 25-metre-long electric bus coaches able to run on ground and elevated. The buses will be air conditioned with automatic door closing system, besides having information system with electronic display.

The project was proposed for Nashik in 2018 and subsequently in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad by the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Devendra Fadnavis.

“We had proposed the project first for Nashik and then Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The state government had approved and submitted it to the central government. However, the Centre rejected the neo metro as a concept on technical assessment. As it was rejected for Nashik, we did not submit another proposal for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad,” said a Maha-Metro official on condition of anonymity.

In Pune, the project was proposed on the high capacity mass transit route (HCMTR) in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Srinivas Bonala, HCMTR project incharge and additional city engineer, said, “We are unaware why it was rejected by the central government. While minister Mohol mentioned it at a recent meeting, we are yet to receive official communication from the Centre or the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).”