Pune Metro Line 3 opens to passengers on November 4 with 17 of 23 stations operational

Metro Line 3, serving commuters between Hinjewadi and Pune, opens to passengers at 6 am on November 4. The corridor runs 23.2 km from Maan to Shivajinagar. It has 23 stations in all, but passenger services will initially run at only 17 of them.

Trains will run every six minutes at peak hours and every 12 minutes at other times. The first train leaves Maan station at 6 am, and the last service from Maan is at 10.30 pm. The last train from the Shivajinagar end leaves at 11.40 pm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the line virtually on November 3. The event is scheduled for 10.30 am at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Mhalunge-Balewadi. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Ajit Pawar are expected to attend.

The line has been built by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) through a public-private partnership. It aims to link the Hinjewadi IT hub with Shivajinagar, which is counted among Pune's major administrative and commercial centres.

The 17 stations that will open in the first phase are Maan, Maan-MIDC Circle, Maan Bus Depot, Hinjewadi Phase 2-Circle 2, Hinjewadi Phase 2-Circle 1, Padmabhushan Chowk, Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk-Hinjewadi, Hinjewadi Phase 1, Wakad Chowk, Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex-Mhalunge, Micron-Balewadi, R. K. Laxman Museum-Balewadi, Aundh, Sakalnagar, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Agriculture College and District Court, Pune.

The remaining six stations will not open in the initial phase. They are Balewadi High Street, Balewadi Phata, Baner Gaon, Baner-Pashan Link Road, Bhosale Nagar and Shivajinagar.

The corridor passes through Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park and several residential and commercial areas, and ends at the District Court station. Thousands of IT employees and other commuters travelling daily between Hinjewadi and the city will get an alternative to the road.

Services will run from 6 am until late at night, giving those travelling on the congested Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar route one more option.