Pune Metro is preparing to introduce six-coach trains on its two operational corridors as ridership is expected to rise sharply once the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 is added to the city’s metro network in the coming months, The Indian Express has reported.
The move marks a major capacity shift for Pune Metro, which has operated three-coach trains since the start of services in 2022.
The planned upgrade is aimed at handling the expected passenger load from the upcoming Line 3, which will connect the Maan-Hinjewadi IT belt with Shivajinagar and give commuters access to the existing PCMC-Swargate and Vanaz-Ramwadi corridors.
Pune Metro currently operates Line 1 from PCMC to Swargate and Line 2 from Vanaz to Ramwadi.
The two corridors were opened in phases between March 2022 and September 2024 and together cover 33.28 Km across the city, including elevated sections and around 5 Km of underground alignment.
The average daily ridership on Line 1 and Line 2 reached 1,87,299 in March 2026.
Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited Managing Director Shravan Hardikar said the number is expected to rise to between 2.75 lakh and 3 lakh passengers per day after the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar corridor begins operations, according to The Indian Express.
“The total average ridership on Line 1 and Line 2 is expected to reach 2,75,000 to three lakh per day after the start of Line 3. Thus, it is going to be necessary to increase the capacity of trains to carry more passengers, so we will start procuring six-coach trains,” Hardikar was quoted as saying by IE.
Hardikar also said Pune Metro needs to build capacity to handle around six lakh passengers per day.
The shift to six-coach trains is therefore being planned not merely as a response to current ridership, but as part of a wider capacity build-up ahead of network expansion.
At present, Pune Metro has 18 three-coach trains on the east-west Vanaz-Ramwadi corridor and 16 three-coach trains on the north-south PCMC-Swargate corridor.
The east-west corridor will need 15 additional trains, while the north-south corridor will require 12 more trains, Hardikar said.
The shift to longer trains will also require supporting infrastructure work.
Maha-Metro plans to expand depot facilities at Vanaz and Range Hill to accommodate six-coach trains and a larger fleet.
The immediate trigger for the capacity plan is Metro Line 3, a 23.203 Km elevated corridor from Maan-Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar.
The corridor will have 23 stations and has been taken up to address traffic issues in Rajiv Gandhi IT Park, Hinjewadi and nearby areas while connecting the IT hub with the city centre at Shivajinagar.
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The corridor is being developed by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority under a public-private partnership model along with Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited.
Once operational, it will allow commuters from Hinjewadi, Wakad, Baner and nearby employment zones to interchange with the existing Maha-Metro network.
The Line 3 opening, however, has faced repeated delays.
According to a Hindustan Times report, PMRDA is now targeting a July rollout after the mandatory Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety inspection, with the Hinjewadi-Baner stretch expected to be inspected by the first week of June.
The report said the corridor was earlier scheduled to begin in March 2025, while the latest plan to start services on the 12-station Hinjewadi-Baner stretch from 15 June has also been dropped.
More than 90 per cent of the corridor work has been completed, but the final launch date has not yet been fixed.
Pune Metro’s capacity planning is also taking place alongside multiple network extensions.
Work has started on extending Line 1 from PCMC to Nigdi over 4.4 Km and from Swargate to Katraj over 5.46 Km.
On the Vanaz-Ramwadi corridor, the Union Cabinet approved the Phase-2 extensions from Vanaz to Chandani Chowk and from Ramwadi to Wagholi/Vitthalwadi in June 2025. The two elevated corridors will together span 12.75 Km and include 13 stations.
The Vanaz-Chandani Chowk extension is 1.12 Km long with 2 stations and the Ramwadi-Wagholi/Vitthalwadi extension is 11.63 Km long with 11 stations.
Another major addition is planned through Line 4 and Line 4A.
The Union Cabinet approved the Kharadi-Khadakwasla and Nal Stop-Warje-Manik Baug corridors in November 2025.
The two corridors will together cover 31.636 Km with 28 elevated stations at an estimated cost of ₹9,857.85 crore.
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