India’s Deepest Metro Station To Come Up At Pune's Civil Court Interchange

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (MahaMetro) announced on Wednesday (18 January) that the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) will inspect a stretch of the Pune Metro in February, and clearances are expected in March.

This line features India's deepest underground station, which will be ready in a few months at the Civil Court and measures 33.1 metres (108.59 feet) in depth.

The CMRS inspection will cover the part between Vanaz and Civil Court, as well as the section between Civil Court and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

MahaMetro, a joint special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Government of India and Government of Maharashtra, is the executing agency of Pune Metro rail project. 

On 6 December, a metro rake successfully completed its first test run between the Range Hills and Civil Court stations in Pune's underground segment, covering 3 kilometres in around 30 minutes.

India’s Deepest Metro station: Civil Court Metro Station

Civil Court Metro Station is an interchange station.

The Pune Metro currently has two routes: PCMC to Swargate (17 km) and Vanaz to Ramwadi (16 km), with a third line under construction by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the Tata-Siemens partnership. 

The lines meet at the Civil Court Metro Station, making it a vital stop for all three metro lines.

There are two terminals at the Civil Court Interchange Metro Station: one elevated and one underground on the PCMC-Swargate and Vanaz-Ramwadi routes respectively. The elevated station is connected to the underground station by escalators and lifts.

The station would allow passengers travelling from the North-South corridor of metro line 1 to switch over to the East-West corridor of elevated metro line 2 and PMRDA elevated line, which is planned to be developed in future. 

A network of connecting underground subways and foot-over bridges would allow easy passenger movement within these two metro corridors.

This underground station's ceiling is 95 feet high and was constructed to receive direct sunshine or natural light.

It is also the largest station in the Pune Metro network, spanning 11.17 acres and featuring various access and exit locations.

Civil Court Metro Station is constructed by the cut and cover method. The station has a crossover towards the Northern End which is constructed by NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling Method).

The station is expected to be ready within a month as work is nearly finished, with 95 per cent of the structural work already completed, according to Brijesh Dixit, MD MahaMetro, reports Financial Express. 

The station's design will adhere to green standards and the Indian Green Building Council rankings.

Pune Metro

About 33 km Phase-1 of the Pune Metro comprises 29 stations and two lines — Vanaz to Ramwadi and Pimpri Chinchwad to Swargate. 

The route from Vanaz to Ramwadi is elevated, whereas the route from Shivajinagar to Swargate is underground, and Pimpri Chinchwad to Rangehill is elevated.

Pune Metro is being developed at the cost of Rs 12,000 crore. 

The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) is also developing a 23.3-km elevated line from Civil Court to Hinjawadi, comprising 23 stations.

The line will align with the MahaMetro lines at the Civil Court interchange station. Tata Realty-Siemens is undertaking the project on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer model.

Commercial operations on two sections of Phase 1 — from Vanaz to Garware College and Pimpri Chinchwad to Phugewadi — were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March this year.

In the second phase, MahaMetro plans to expand the metro rail to additional routes, which also includes Neo Metro on the proposed 43-kilometre High Capacity Mass Transit Route in Pune and 31-km in Pimpri-Chinchwad.