Delay in launch of Pune metro

Five years have passed since Pune Metro was incepted in the city. However, even today, the project remains uncompleted. The ‘Metro Man’, Mr.E.Sreedharan, expressed his displeasure about the same on Thursday at a function which awarded him the Lokmanya Tilak award for 2013.
After receiving the award Mr. Sreedharan made no bones of his displeasure over the metro project in Pune getting delayed. He stated that valuable years had been lost due to unnecessary wrangle over it and it is continuing to delay its launch.
Mr. Sreedharan said that he considered himself to be privileged to prepare a detailed project report for the Pune metro system five years ago. Metro project has a lot of advantages and Pune was at the threshold of realizing it. However, unnecessary disputes over it made the city lose five valuable years. Now, in order to successfully launch the project, a financial restructuring is required along with discipline, values and work culture. He added that the Konkan Railway Project and Delhi Metro were completed within the stipulated time frame. The same did not cost any escalations too since there were no arguments, agitations or any kind of hurdles along the way.

Causes of delay in launching the project

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had drafted the Pune metro project in the year 2009 under the guidance of E.Sreedharan. The project was estimated to be completed by 2014. However, the same could not be completed due to many reasons. Several NGO’s opposed the project. To add fuel to the fire, political parties vied with one another for credit. Above all, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation kept bickering over the costs involved. All these factors proved responsible for the delay of the mass transit project spanning Pune and the twin township to get back on track. Sreedharan said that the city needs to learn from Delhi and the Konkan where the projects were completed in an efficient manner without any over-running costs. He also mentioned that the Kochi metro would be operational within the next 3 years. He stated that it might take another year to complete the project in Pune.

Steps needed to be taken

Expressing his views about the opinions and oppositions on the financial model for the Pune metro, Mr. Sreedharan said that the success of any metro depends on its sustainability. The metro should never be a burden to the society. Stating Delhi metro as an example, he said that the same is covering operational expenses and is also paying back the loans. He said that virtues like punctuality, integrity, professional competence and social accountability play a very important role in the completion of any project. In huge projects like the metro time is equivalent to money and transparency also plays a key role. He stated that professional competency had helped develop the Delhi metro, which is not only a technical marvel but also a sustainable model. Sreedharan advised the project-implementing body to ensure that work on the project causes minimum problems to the people. The disruption and dislocation should be minimal. Traffic flow should be managed efficiently so that the city does not get affected by the project work.

Features of Pune Metro Station

Initial plans were to construct few sections underground and rest elevated but the idea was dropped considering the increased traffic on the roads. Since some were too narrow to even adjust the pillars of elevated routes, it was decided that all the routes would be underground. However, in April 2012, the PMC announced that the construction would be according to DMRC reports (mostly elevated and partially underground).
According to the plan, the metro project would consist of 2 phases. Phase I would consist of Line 1 and Line 2 which runs from Chinchwad to Swargate and Vanaz to Ramwadi respectively. Phase II would include Line 3 and Line 4 routes which would be from Deccan Gymkhana to Bund Garden and from ASI to Hinjawadi respectively. Line 1 would cover an area of about 16 km and Line 2 about 15 km. Line 3 and line 4 would cover a distance of 11 km and 18 km respectively.
As part of future expansion the following extensions and routes have been proposed:

1. Agriculture college – Warje via JM road and Karve road (9 km)
2. Extension from Race Course to Hadapsar
3. Extension from Bund Garden to Vishrantwadi
4. Link from Bhosari to Moshi to link with Moshi-Chakan-new Pune international airport metro line.