Delay in Pune Metro Line 3 raises concerns; officials assure of timely completion
Pune Metro to operate across all stations starting today
While Pune Metro has successfully completed lines 1 and 2, progress on the Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited (PITCMRL) line 3, connecting Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar, is lagging. Work on this project began on November 25, 2021, and is expected to finish by March 24, 2025. Originally, 90% of the work was to be completed by now, but only 68.5% has been finished.
On Monday, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is also Pune’s guardian minister, held a meeting to assess the situation. Contractors expressed concerns over delays caused by traffic police not granting permission for the placement of metro girders. In response, DCM Pawar directed Pune police to allow PITCMRL to work 24 hours on public holidays to expedite girder installation between Shivajinagar and Aundh.
A PMRDA official stated that the company has mentioned that it can only work for five hours at night due to daytime restrictions. He added that the metro work schedule is set and must be followed. Although the project is behind schedule, the company assured officials it would catch up on lost time.
The ongoing delays have raised concerns about meeting the project’s completion deadline. Stakeholders are hopeful that with new measures in place, progress will improve in the coming months. Further updates on the project’s status are anticipated as the situation develops.
The 23.3 km long metro line 3 will have 23 elevated stations and is being developed by the PMRDA on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The total cost of metro line 3 is ₹8,313 crore, and it has been proposed by Tata-Siemens on a PPP basis.
