The Pune metro rail is likely to get rolling on Vanaz to Garware college stretch on Karve road in two months after it completed the trial run on a six kilometre stretch from Pimpri Chinchwad to Phugewadi. 

“The aim is to start the commercial operations of Pune metro rail in 2021 but the exact date cannot be decided now,” Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director, Maha-Metro.

He said the pandemic has impacted the delay in the ongoing work of the Pune metro rail. “There has been no significant cost increase of the project works but time-wise delay had taken place,” Dixit said.

The Pune metro will get its coaches by May and till that time the coaches brought from Nagpur metro would be used for trials. “The phase one of Pune metro rail is of 31 km and trial run is going on in the 6 km stretch now. Two stations on the stretch from PCMC to Phuegwadi are nearing completion,” he said.

On the decision to explore Metro-Neo from Swargate to Katraj, Dixit said that the Maha-Metro has received communication from PMC over exploring Metro-Neo in the city. “The union government has accepted the Metro neo as a national model. It has low ridership and cost-effective solution of mass transport to cater to the less populated area,” he said adding the buses has the capacity to commute 4,000 citizens per hour while metro rail has the capacity of 20,000 per hour and there was nothing for the middle mark of commuters.

Cities across the world use different modes of mass transport for less populated areas and they include Tram, light metro or trolley service. “The Metro Neo is cost-effective with one-fourth cost of metro rail and has the capacity to transport 10,000-12,000 persons in an hour,” Dixit said.

However, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the same would be prepared only after the state government`s directions. “It will be the state government that will make a decision on whether to opt for Metro-Neo in the city for mass transport in a certain stretch of the proposed metro rail route,” he said.

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