Pune Metro pays tribute to Shashikant Limaye
A railway engineer of par excellence, brilliant mind, and a great leader Shashikant D. Limaye who wore many hats during a career that spanned over 49 years passed away on Thursday night. He was 71 years old. He had recently attended a project review meeting at the Pune Metro office two days ago before his sudden demise. He is survived by a wife and two daughters.
Schooled in Pune and a gold medallist alumnus of COEP College. He did his master’s from IIT Bombay (1973). He was a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Bombay and COEP College Pune. He entered the Indian Railways through a competitive examination and became a well-known name in the railway circuit in India and aboard, a railway engineer of par excellence.
Maha Metro was formed in the year 2016 and since the inception of the project, Limaye has been associated as a Technical Advisor. He is largely responsible for modifying the alignment of Corridor 1 (PCMC -Swargarte, 17.5 km) and corridor 2 (Vanaz to Ramwadi, 15.7 km) to suit the needs of the citizens and accomplish the effective multi-modal integration and minimize the acquisition of private land and hutments. He was a member of the three-member Technical Expert & Advisory committee on the Pune Metro Project appointed by the Government of Maharashtra to resolve the alignment issues.
Limaye started his career with IRSE in 1973 and during his service with the Indian Railways, he contributed greatly to many prestigious projects viz. Kokan Railways Corporation where he is credited with many innovations. He was also the COO in Indian arms Bermingham railways from 2001 to 2006 where he contributed to the Geometric designs of stretches on the London to Glasgow route of British railways under WCMR modernization to increase the speed from 160 kph to 225 kph. The late Limaye was also a part of the renowned Bangladesh railway project under the Indian govt. These are just a few to mention. During his tenure, he carried out responsibilities at various places in the Railways.
Limaye remained active even after he took voluntary retirement after the completion of his stint as the Divisional Railway Manager, Rajkot, Western railway. He is widely travelled and has published and presented a large number of technical papers in Technical Journals and Conferences in India and abroad. His ability to build consensus on belligerent issues earned him the title of the vital leader in the railway services.
On the demise of Limaye, MD Maha Metro Dr. Brijesh Dixit said, “Maha Metro is deeply mourned by the sad demise of Shashikant Limaye. His leadership has guided and shaped the Pune Metro project to its heights today. May God place his soul in Peace.”
