Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pune Metro project and related expansion works through video conferencing on 3 November, with the overall project valued at nearly Rs 21,800 crore, according to a report by Lokmat-Pune. The event also included the foundation laying for other works linked to the city’s infrastructure expansion.
Addressing the gathering, Modi said the Pune Metro expansion would save commuters’ time and improve transport facilities for residents. He linked shorter travel times with higher city productivity, arguing that improved productivity could support broader economic growth and benefit both lower-income households and the middle class.
The Prime Minister described the Pune project as part of a wider effort to build cities that are more competitive and easier to live in. He said urban transport infrastructure was increasingly influencing how cities function, alongside traditional measures such as industrial activity, food and agricultural production.
Modi also contrasted the pace of metro construction before and after 2014. Citing figures in his address, he said India had 248 kilometres of metro routes after the first metro service began in 1984 and that metro services were available in only five cities in 2014. He said the national network has since expanded to about 1,200 kilometres across 26 cities, with more than one crore passengers travelling by metro every day.
The figures were presented as part of the Union government’s account of the expansion of urban mass transit over the past 12 years. Modi said the Indian metro network is now counted among the world’s top three metro networks. He also attributed the expansion to a policy focus on improving the ease of living and ease of transportation for urban residents.
In his remarks on Maharashtra, Modi said the state had only around 10 to 11 kilometres of metro lines in operation when the first National Democratic Alliance government came to power in the state. He said Maharashtra now has nearly 175 kilometres of operational metro lines, while work is under way on another 680 kilometres.
Modi further said that more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore is being invested in metro infrastructure in Maharashtra. According to his address, this spending is generating employment for workers and engineers and supporting activity in shops and factories connected to construction and infrastructure supply chains.
The Pune inauguration places the city’s metro expansion within a much larger state and national transport programme. The immediate urban effect will depend on the operational rollout of the inaugurated works, their integration with existing services and the extent to which the expanded network improves daily connectivity for Pune residents. The Lokmat report did not provide further details on the specific routes, stations or commissioning timeline covered by the latest inauguration.
