Maharashtra Clears New Pune Metro Stations And Suburban Rail Expansion To Lonavala

The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday (3 September) approved two significant infrastructure projects for Pune — the addition of Balajinagar and Bibvewadi stations on the Swargate–Katraj Metro corridor, and the third and fourth suburban rail lines between Pune and Lonavala.

The cabinet meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Responding to long-standing public demand, the government cleared the construction of two new Metro stations at Balajinagar and Bibvewadi on the Swargate–Katraj stretch of Pune Metro’s Line-1.

In addition, the Katraj Metro station will be shifted southwards by 421 metres to provide better integration with the adjoining PMPML bus hub.

The revised plan, which includes an extended tunnel length, has pushed up costs by Rs 683.11 crore. Of this, Mahametro will contribute Rs 227.42 crore through the Pune Municipal Corporation, while the balance will be raised through loans and other financial arrangements.

Phase-1 of Pune Metro, being developed by Mahametro, consists of two lines covering 33.28 km.

Line-1 connects Pimpri-Chinchwad to Swargate with 14 stations, while Line-2 runs from Vanaz to Ramwadi with 16 elevated stations.

A separate Line-3 from Hinjawadi to Shivajinagar is under construction by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) on a public–private partnership basis.

In a parallel decision, the cabinet also sanctioned the long-pending project to construct third and fourth suburban rail lines between Pune and Lonavala.

This 63.87 km corridor with 17 stations will cost about Rs 5,100 crore and will be implemented by the Mumbai Railway Development Corporation.

The Pune–Lonavala broad gauge line, operational since 1927 and doubled in 1960, has struggled to meet growing traffic demands.

Suburban services began in 1982, but with current utilisation already at 119 percent and future projections touching 285 percent over the next three decades, the additional lines have become essential.

The new tracks will be reserved for long-distance passenger and freight trains, while existing lines will cater solely to suburban services.

Funding responsibilities will be shared: the state government will contribute 30 percent (Rs 765 crore), while Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation will provide 20 percent each (Rs 510 crore apiece).

The PMRDA will also contribute 30 percent (Rs 765 crore). A surcharge on railway tickets, similar to the MUTP-2 model in Mumbai, will be levied to raise additional funds, with a request to the Centre to deposit these proceeds into the state’s Urban Transport Fund.

The cabinet has declared the project both an “Urgent Public Project” and an “Ambient Urban Transport Project”.

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