Pune: Metro likely to run up to Swargate in September

Pune: Citizens will have to wait till September to open the Shivajinagar to Swargate route of Pune Metro.

The extended Metro route of Ruby Hall to Ramwadi is getting good response from passengers. The number of passengers grew by nine lakh in May as compared to January this year. The average daily number of passengers has reached 90,000.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ruby Hall to Ramwadi extended route on March 6 this year online. The number of passengers has been increasing since then. The total number of passengers was 17.55 lakh in January and 17.76 lakh in February this year before the opening of the extended route up to Ramwadi. Later, it went up to 22.58 lakh in March. It rose to 23.81 lakh in April and 26.16 lakh in May.

The daily passenger count was 60,000 in January. It increased to 90,000 daily after the extended route up to Ramwadi was inaugurated.

The daily revenue of Pune Metro was Rs 10 lakh till the extended route was not opened. Now, it is Rs 14 lakh daily. In May, the public transport utility earned Rs 4,24,76,480.

Currently, Pune Metro services are operational on Pimpri to Shivajinagar Court and Vanaz to Ramwadi routes. The 5.5 km Ruby Hall to Ramwadi extended route was thrown open in March this year. It has Bund Garden, Yerwada, Kalyani Nagar and Ramwadi Metro stations. The Pimpri to Shivajinagar Court underground route will be extended up to Swargate. The 3.64-km route may be opened by September. This was revealed by MahaMetro Executive Director Hemant Sonawane.

Yerwada Metro station to open in July

The Yerwada Metro station could not become operational because its stairs were causing traffic issues, which has now been shifted away. Its work is underway. Hence, the station is currently not functioning on the extended route. It is likely to become operational in July. More passengers are likely to be added to the service after that.

Monthly number of passengers

January – 17.55 lakh

February – 17.76 lakh

March – 22.58 lakh

April – 23.81 lakh

May – 26.16 lakh