Journalism of Courage
Advertisement
Premium

Pune Metro trial run gets on track, commercial run in 3 months’ time

Trial run being conducted from Sant Tukaram Nagar-Vallabhnagar area to Phugewadi

As of now, the trial run is being conducted from Sant Tukaram Nagar-Vallabhnagar area to Phugewadi. (Express Photo)

TWO DAYS after the first Metro train consisting of three coaches arrived at Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maha-Metro wasted no time initiating the trial run as it began the process amidst much fanfare on Tuesday.

“We have achieved a major milestone in the implementation of the Pune Metro project as we begin the trial run… it’s a new year’s gift for residents of Pune,” Maha-Metro managing director Brijesh Dixit said.

Dixit performed the pooja and cracked a coconut to signal the beginning of the trial run. Metro officials, staff and others involved in the project were present.

The first Metro train arrived at Pimpri-Chinchwad on Sunday and got a rousing welcome amidst the beating of traditional music instruments like the dhol-tasha. Pimpri-Chinchwad Mayor Mai Dhore led residents in welcoming the first Metro train. The second train is expected to arrive from Nagpur by Wednesday.

On Monday, a crane brought in from Bengaluru was employed to lift the coaches onto the elevated tracks in Vallabhnagar-Sant Tukaramnagar area.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Dixit said the trial run will take two to three months. “Only when the trial run is over, we will be in a position to start the commercial run on a 5-km stretch initially, on corridor I,” he added.

If the trial run takes two to three months, the commercial run on corridor I — Pimpri to Swargate — will not start before April. “Yes, the trial run is a lengthy process. We have to ensure that we get everything right. Once we check the train on various parameters, at least four agencies, including the Railway Board and CMRS (Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety), will conduct the inspection. We need a green signal from them. Once the CMRS gives the final certification, only then can we start the commercial run on the shorter route,” Dixit said.

Story continues below this ad

Refusing to give an start date for the commercial service, Dixit said they needed at least two to three months to conduct a full-scale trial and weed out all possible problems. “However, our effort will be to start the commercial run as soon as possible. It could be by April or before that. But as of now, we are not in a position to announce the exact date for starting the commercial service,” he said, adding that in two to three months, the full construction and the work of setting up stations will be completed.

As of now, the trial run is being conducted from Sant Tukaram Nagar-Vallabhnagar area to Phugewadi. “We wanted to start the trial run from Pimpri, which is in front of the PCMC (Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation) headquarters, but some work remains to be done there,” he said.

Maha Metro had earlier claimed that they will be able to start the commercial run by December-January, the deadline set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I think we have lived up to expectations as we have started the trial run in December,” Dixit said.

Reiterating that the work was completed in a short span of time, Dixit said, “The progress of the Metro work in Pune has left other Metro projects behind. The Pune Metro work is the fastest as we are heading for the launch of the shorter commercial service in a short span of time,” he added.

Story continues below this ad

Each train will have three coaches and the capacity to hold 950 to 970 passengers. One coach will be reserved for women. All coaches of the train are interconnected to facilitate movement from one coach to another. The trains are made of stainless steel and can run at a maximum speed of 90 kmph.

Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.   Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives. Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees. During Covid, over 50 doctors were  asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa. Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.     Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More


Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
Tags:
  • Pune Metro
Edition
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us
Express ExclusiveAIIMS study: 6 in 10 top Indian doctors not trained to certify brain death, hurting organ donation
X