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Journalism of Courage
Written by Ruta Patil
The Railways have proposed a revised route alignment for the Pune–Nashik Hi-speed rail corridor that avoids the GMRT (Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope) zone near Narayangaon. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the development in the Lok Sabha while responding on the proposed Nashik-Pune Hi-speed project.
The earlier alignment, which passed near the GMRT observatory had been deemed unfeasible by the Department of Science & Technology and the Department of Atomic Energy as railway lines in the vicinity could cause disturbances in the observations.
Following consultations with the Maharashtra government, technical experts, and local representatives, the Railways has proposed an alternate route that avoids the restricted GMRT zone while retaining the project’s objective of stronger regional connectivity.
The revised alignment will connect Nashik to Sainagar Shirdi, then move through Puntamba, Nimblak, and Ahilyanagar, before finally reaching Pune via the Chakan Industrial Estate.
The Railways has outlined significant progress on the alignment. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for doubling the Nashik Road-Sainagar Shirdi line is already complete, and Rs 240 crore has been sanctioned for doubling the 17-km Sainagar Shirdi-Puntamba stretch.
The 80-km Puntamba-Nimblak section has been fully doubled, while work on doubling the 6-km Nimblak-Ahilyanagar segment is underway. In addition, a Rs 8,970-crore DPR has been prepared for constructing new double lines between Ahilyanagar and Pune over a 133-km stretch, which will also connect the rapidly growing Chakan Industrial Estate.
The proposed alignment will boost cultural, and economic growth. By connecting two major metropolitan regions. It will increase tourism to Trimbakeshwar, Shirdi, and Pune’s heritage sites and will also enhance access to Chakan and other industrial belts, strengthening tourism as well as industrial and educational mobility.
