A Metro train during the trial run on Tuesday. (Express photo by Ashish Kale) The Pune Metro project, which is awaiting the nod of Union and state governments for inaugurating its commercial operations, expects to complete work on a 12-km stretch in two sections by January 15. Pune Metro is also focussing more on generating revenue from non-fare sources to keep the fare structure reasonable, in an attempt to encourage maximum use of Metro service by people.
The 12-km route includes two sections, from Vanaz to Garware College and Pimpri Chinchwad to Phugewadi, with five stations each on both sections. “The commercial operation of Pune Metro rail will begin after the official inauguration of the service in the city. The Union government and state government have equal stake in the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (Maha-Metro), which is implementing the project, so the day of inauguration will be decided by them,” said Brijesh Dixit, chairman and managing director of Maha-Metro.
The non-fare revenue target for Pune Metro rail has been kept at 50 per cent. Dixit said the efforts have already started yielding results as few Metro train compartments have been covered with advertisements, while Garware College Metro station has also got advertisements. In addition, there would be advertisement boards and commercial spaces on lease inside Metro stations. “The Transit Oriented Development and additional cess collected by the civic body for Pune Metro will be a major source in non-fare revenue,” said Dixit, adding that a higher non-fare revenue will help in keeping fares low and encourage more ridership.
While Pune Metro is yet to fix the fare structure, it is likely to keep the minimum fare at Rs 10 and maximum at Rs 50 at the beginning. “We are yet to decide the fare and also whether to provide inaugural launch concession,” said Dixit.
Meanwhile, services in two routes across 33.1 km in phase one — from Vanaz to Ramwadi and PCMC to Swargate — will start by the year end as the operations will be expanded to other sections.
Pune Metro rail has also planned to extend its operations from Garware College to Civil Court and Phugewadi to Range Hills by May this year.
“Pune Metro plans to begin actual work on phase 2, which includes extending the route by 82.5 km across the city. The work on Detailed Project Report for the proposed extension of route is being prepared and will be submitted to the state government in May for approval,” said Dixit. The proposed extended route of 82.5 km includes 1.5 km from Vanaz to Chandni Chowk, 12 km from Ramwadi to Wagholi, 5 km from Hadapsar to Kharadi, 7 km from Swargate to Hadapsar, 13 km from Khadakwasla to Swargate, 8 km from SNDT to Warje and 36 km along the proposed High Capacity Mass Transit Route in PMC.
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