Modi to open Pune's Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 by video link on November 3

The long wait for Pune's Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 is nearing its end. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally open the 23.3-km corridor on November 3, but he will do so by video link. His proposed trip to Pune has been put off, though arrangements for the virtual launch are going ahead. The line is also called Metro Line 3 and runs from Maan-Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar.

The main event will be held at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will attend in person, as will Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar. Officials of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) confirmed the plan on Monday, after a meeting with representatives of the project company that went over the state of the corridor and the arrangements for the launch. PMRDA Commissioner Abhijeet Choudhary said the authority had been given its instructions. "We have been asked to keep everything ready for November 3. The Prime Minister will join online, while the Chief Minister and other dignitaries will be at the venue," he said. A senior official at the meeting added, "We discussed the readiness of the project and the operationalisation of the route fixed for November 3."

Passenger service is expected to start around the same time on 17 of the 23 elevated stations, each of which has now won safety clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS). Two more stations near Balewadi have been inspected, and their approval is expected soon. Four others, at RBI, Simla Chowk, Mahabaleshwar Chowk and Baner, are still waiting for a go-ahead. Work on stations 13 and 14 is also being completed before the ceremony. Officials say the rest will open once approvals arrive and the remaining work is done. How many stations will open in the first phase, and the day regular rides begin, are still being watched closely.

The corridor is being built by PMRDA together with Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited, as a PPP venture. It is described as the first metro corridor in the country developed this way under the Centre's 2017 Metro Rail Policy. The estimated cost, counting land acquisition and utility shifting, is about Rs 8,313 crore.

The project has slipped repeatedly. The first target was March 2025, but approvals for barricading, utility shifting and other works caused delays. The deadline moved to September 2025 and then to March 2026, with shortages of labour and materials adding to the trouble. Officials once planned a phased opening with 12 stations in the first section. The inauguration was then postponed again while CMRS approval was awaited, and the model code of conduct for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections added to the uncertainty. With the Prime Minister now joining remotely, the event is likely to stay on the fixed date.

The line is meant to ease the daily crush on the road between Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi and the city, which is badly congested at office hours. Commuters from the IT park, Balewadi, Baner and Shivajinagar stand to gain, and thousands of IT professionals are expected to use it. Anger among such commuters has been rising. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray demanded on Sunday that the state open the cleared section at once instead of waiting for a ceremony.

The same event will mark the start of work on the next stage of the Pune Metro. Maha-Metro is to perform the bhoomi pujan for its Phase 2 projects. Foundation stones will be laid for Line 4, from Khadakwasla to Kharadi, and for extensions of Line 2 from Ramwadi to Wagholi and from Vanaz to Chandani Chowk. A link joining Line 2 and Line 4 from Nal Stop to Manik Baug is also part of the programme. A formal announcement is expected within two days, once the model code of conduct for the Legislative Council elections, covering the graduates' and teachers' constituencies, is lifted.

PMRDA has also cleared a Rs 426 crore plan for better roads, traffic management and last-mile connectivity in Hinjewadi. Once trains run, it should help riders reach stations and travel to and from the IT hub more easily.