The Pune Metro has revealed that it expects to commence the underground service on both lines from Civil Court to Swargate in mid-June following the successful trial runs on both the routes, The Indian Express reported citing officials.
A Pune Metro official said they have completed the trial run on the second line of the underground metro rail service and that it was successful. They added that the work on the underground metro station is going on in full swing.
“We are hopeful that the underground metro rail service from Civil Court to Swargate would be operational by June 15,” the officer said. The election code of conduct will be getting over in June.
The initial target date for commencing operations from Civil Court to Swargate was March 31. However, the official said that the work could not be completed and the election code of conduct came into force.
Approval from government
The launch of the underground metro rail service will complete phase one of the project, encompassing the routes from Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to Swargate and from Vanaz to Ramwadi.
Currently, the Vanaz to Ramwadi route is fully operational, whereas the PCMC to Civil Court route is partially functional, with the exception of the underground segment extending to Swargate.
The central government has granted approval for the extension of the route from PCMC to Nigdi, a part of phase-I. However, approval for the extension from Swargate to Katraj is pending. The proposal for the second phase of the Pune Metro rail has been submitted to the Maharashtra government for consideration, after which it will be forwarded to the central government.
Meanwhile, the Pune Metro is bettering the feeder service from metro stations to nearby areas to ensure last-mile connectivity for commuters. An official said that the feeder service to Pune airport from Metro station has received good feedback, adding that more routes are being explored and tested on an experimental basis.