INDIA: The first two isolated sections of the Pune metro network were opened for revenue service on March 6, following an inauguration ceremony at Garware College station attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Limited services are initially operating at 30 min headways on both routes, with the metro open from 08.00 to 21.00. More than 21 000 passengers were carried on the first day of operation.
The first 5 km elevated section of the Aqua Line runs from Garware College to Vanaz, serving five stations. When completed, the 14·7 km line will connect Vanaz in the west to Ramwadi in the northeast, close to the city’s airport.
The second line to open was the northernmost 7 km elevated section of the Purple Line between Pimpri and Phugewadi, which also has five stations. This line is due to be extended south through the city centre to Swargate, bringing the total length to 16·6 km. The southernmost 8·2 km from Shivajinagar to Swargate will run underground, including an interchange to the Aqua Line at Civil Court.
Construction of the Pune metro began on December 24 2016, with Modi laying a foundation stone. Tunnelling on the southern part of the Purple Line began in December 2019. The Prime Minister also laid a stone on December 18 2018 to mark the start of work on the city’s third metro line — a 23·3 km elevated route that will run west from Shivajinagar to Hinjawadi, serving 23 stations.
Titagarh Firema is supplying 51 two-car metro trains to operate the Aqua and Purple lines, while Alstom is supplying the overhead electrification and CBTC Urbalis 400 signalling. Maharashtra Metro Corp secured Rs58·3bn in financing for these procurements from France’s international development agency AFD and the European Investment Bank in early 2020.
Meanwhile, Siemens Mobility and Alstom are to supply the E&M systems for Line 3. This is being built by the Pune IT City Metro Rail Ltd joint venture of Tata’s TRIL Urban Transport and Siemens Project Ventures under a design, build, finance, operate and transfer concession awarded by Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority in September 2019.
