Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar Metro Likely to Start by End of July, Big Relief for Pune IT Employees

Hinjawadi Metro: Thousands of IT professionals and daily commuters in Pune may soon get major relief as the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro is expected to begin operations by the end of July or in the first week of August.

After months of delays, officials have finalized a new timeline for the much-awaited metro service. Once operational, the route is expected to make travel faster for people commuting to Hinjewadi IT Park while reducing traffic congestion on Ganeshkhind Road and nearby areas.

The metro corridor will be Pune’s third metro line and will connect the city’s central areas with the Hinjewadi IT hub. The project is being developed under a public-private partnership by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) along with Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited.

The metro was originally expected to open in March last year. However, pending construction work delayed the launch. A later target of July 15 also could not be achieved.

According to PMRDA Commissioner Dr Abhijit Chaudhari, the inspection of the metro line by the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety has already been completed. The process of obtaining the final safety approval is now in its last stage and is expected to take around 10 more days.

Once the approval is granted, commercial operations are likely to begin by the end of July or during the first week of August.

The project was delayed by more than a year due to construction challenges on Ganeshkhind Road and land acquisition issues. As a result, the overall project cost has increased by nearly 20%.

However, officials said the additional cost will not be passed on to the government or the public. Instead, Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited will bear the entire financial burden.

The launch of the metro is expected to significantly improve daily travel for IT employees and other commuters, while helping ease traffic on one of Pune’s busiest routes.

read more at hinjewadi360.com