Centre approves extension of Pune Metro to Chandani Chowk, Wagholi under phase-2

Indian Express

5 hours ago

The Centre on Wednesday approved the extension of the Vanaz-Ramwadi route of the Pune Metro as part of works under phase 2.
'The extension of the Metro route from Vanaz to Chandani Chowk and from Ramwadi to Wagholi has received the Union government's approval. Work on the project will start soon,' said Union Minister of State for Aviation Murlidhar Mohol.
The Pune Metro has two operational routes: from Vanaz to Ramwadi and from Pimpri Chinchwad to Swargate. Work has already started for extension of the Pimpri Chinchwad-Swargate route till Bhakti Shakti on the Pimpri Chinchwad side and till Katraj from Swargate.
Mohol said the two elevated corridors will span 12.75 km and include 13 stations, connecting fast-developing suburbs such as Chandani Chowk, Bavdhan, Kothrud, Kharadi, and Wagholi. The project is scheduled for completion within four years.
'The estimated cost of the project is Rs 3,626.24 crore, which will be equally shared by the Union and state governments. This strategic proposal is a logical extension of the existing Corridor-2 and aligns with the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP), which envisions a continuous corridor from Chandani Chowk to Wagholi Metro to strengthen East–West mass transit in Pune,' said Mohol.
The extensions will serve key IT hubs, commercial areas, educational institutions, and residential pockets, increasing the share of public transport and ridership across the network, he said, adding that the new corridors will also integrate at the District Court Interchange Station with Line-1 (Nigdi–Katraj) and Line-3 (Hinjewadi–District Court) to enable seamless multimodal urban travel.
The government, as part of its long-term mobility planning for Pune, will integrate the connectivity with intercity bus services from Mumbai and Bengaluru at Chandani Chowk, while those from Ahilya Nagar and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar will connect to Wagholi, allowing passengers to easily access Pune's Metro system. These extensions will also help decongest arterial routes such as Paud Road and Nagar Road, offering safe, fast, and eco-friendly mobility options, said Mohol.
After completion of these corridors, the projected incremental daily ridership for the entire Chandani Chowk to Wagholi route is estimated to be 96,000 in 2027, 2.01 lakh in 2037, 2.87 lakh in 2047, and 3.49 lakh in 2057. Pre-construction activities such as topographical survey and detailed design consultancy have already commenced.
Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast.
Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste.
Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter.
Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More