Pune: The corridor that Hinjawadi's software engineers have been waiting a decade for opened on Tuesday, though they will only be able to board it from Wednesday morning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Pune Metro Line 3, the Pink Line, by video conferencing, and laid the foundation stone for four more corridors under Phase II. Together the projects are worth around Rs 21,800 crore. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attended the event at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi.
The 23.203-km line is entirely elevated and runs from Maan through the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park at Hinjawadi to the District Court station near Shivajinagar, with 23 stations. Passenger services start at 6 am on November 4, initially at 17 stations; the remaining six are expected to open in phases by January 2027.
It is the first metro project in the country built on the design, build, finance, operate and transfer model through a public-private partnership, under the National Metro Rail Policy of 2017. The estimated cost is Rs 8,313 crore, including land acquisition and shifting of utilities.
Two details stand out. The line will be operated entirely by women train operators. And about 30 per cent of its electricity is to come from solar.
Fadnavis said commuters heading to Hinjawadi often spend one to two hours in traffic, and that around 120 km of metro corridor in Pune is either complete or under construction. He said the Centre provided viability gap funding for Line 3 while the state handled land acquisition.
Modi used the event to count the national numbers: the operational metro network has gone from 248 km in 2014 to about 1,200 km, and from five cities to 26, with more than one crore passengers a day. He referred to the Rs 1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund approved in February 2026 and said hundreds of smaller cities need to be turned into growth centres.
Phase II covers Lines 2A, 2B, 4 and 4A. Line 2A will link Vanaz with Chandani Chowk, 2B will extend the Ramwadi corridor to Vitthalwadi, Line 4 will run 25.52 km from Kharadi to Khadakwasla and Line 4A will cover 6.12 km from Nal Stop to Manik Baug.