New Metro stretch to cut travel time from Pimpri-Chinchwad to Pune to 25 minutes

Before the onset of monsoon, it took commuters between an hour to one-and-a-half hours to reach Pune city. Now, due to monsoon and the ongoing Metro and road widening works at Bopodi, the Pune-Mumbai highway witnesses heavy traffic jam between the Phugewadi-Dapodi-Bopodi and Khadki stretch. Though the congestion is less in the afternoon, the traffic situation compounds in the morning and during peak traffic hours as it takes commuters at least two or more than two hours to reach Shivajinagar from Pimpri.

As the vehicles move from Pimpri, it lands in a snarl on the Nashik Phata-Kasarwadi stretch. After 2km, when heavy traffic moves to Phugewadi, it becomes a nightmare for motorists and two-wheelers to take off.

All hell seems to break loose at Bopodi Chowk as vehicles from Phugewadi side and Aundh side land at the same spot to take the Bopodi-Khadki bazaar route to reach Pune city.

As the high stretch from Bopodi to Wakdewadi is closed for ongoing Metro and PMC’s road widening work, the entire load is on the road from Bopodi to Khadki Bazaar. Even though it is a one-way road, traffic virtually crawls for a 2km stretch and the congestion clears up only after the Khadki Bazaar area ends.

From Phugewadi to Khadki Bazaar, the highway stretches up to nearly 4km and vehicular traffic on this stretch has been a nightmare for years.

With Metro starting its services from Phugewadi to Shivajinagar, daily commuters and MahaMetro officials said it will be a big relief for those who travel between Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune city everyday.

“Currently, it takes one to two hours for office-goers and college students to reach Pune city. This time is going to reduce drastically from August 1 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the Phugewadi-Shivajinagar stretch,” spokesperson of MahaMetro Hemant Sonawane told this paper.

Sonawane said it will take 25 minutes for citizens to reach Shivajinagar from Pimpri-Chinchwad once the Metro stretch is commissioned, as compared to the over one or two hours that it takes to travel in buses or in personal vehicles.

The biggest advantage of the Metro service will be that a Metro train would be made available every 10 minutes. “Currently, a Metro train is available after every half an hour.

After the Prime Minister inaugurates the Phugewadi to Shivajinagar stretch, there will be a Metro train every 10 minutes on this stretch,” said Sonawane.

The Metro train will start from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s headquarters in Pimpri and will first halt at Sant Tukaram Nagar station, Nashik Phata or the Bhosari station, Kasarwadi, Phugewadi, Dapodi, Bopodi, Shivajinagar (near old ST stand) and Civil Court, Shivajinagar.

The MahaMetro has skipped Khadki and Range Hills stations as it plans to build them at a later stage.

The Pimpri to Phugewadi Metro rail service which has five stations was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in March last year.

Advocate Manohar Garande, who travels to Shivajinagar everyday, said, “For residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad, a Metro train up to Shivajinagar will be a huge relief. It is the quickest mode of transport and will be helpful for people like me, who have to reach Shivajinagar court everyday on time. Currently, besides the fact that a lot of time gets wasted in travelling, we also incur a heavy expenditure on fuel if we take our personal vehicle.”

Echoing the same views, Prajakta Kale, who travels to Pune city three-four times a week said,”I have to think a hundred times before travelling to Pune city in morning and evening hours. I prefer to travel in the afternoon when there is less traffic. The situation will change once the Metro starts its service from Phugewadi to Shivajinagar.”