Pune Metro Line 3, connecting Hinjewadi with Shivajinagar, has been inaugurated to reduce commuting delays for thousands of IT professionals and other road users travelling through western Pune, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said after the opening.
The 23-km corridor runs from Maan to the District Court station and has 23 stations. Hinjewadi has faced persistent traffic congestion, creating lengthy and unpredictable journeys for workers travelling to and from the city’s major IT hub. Fadnavis said the new service would reduce travel time and make daily commutes more convenient.
The corridor, also referred to as the Pink Line, is among the first metro projects approved under the Centre’s 2017 public-private partnership policy through the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer model. The project was awarded to a joint venture between Tata Realty and Siemens.
Fadnavis said the project faced several implementation challenges but that the obstacles had been addressed, allowing the line to become operational. The inauguration marks the latest addition to Pune’s public transport infrastructure and provides a rail-based connection between the western IT district and central Pune.
A prominent feature of the project is the participation of women in its technical and operational workforce. Fadnavis said nearly 100 women had been trained as train operators, while women made up around half of the overall workforce. Women engineers also held important responsibilities during the construction phase.
The Chief Minister said the corridor reflected a wider effort to expand women’s participation in technical and operational roles rather than limiting their employment to administrative positions. The staffing details position the line not only as a transport project but also as an example of greater representation in metro operations and construction-related work.
The inauguration also formed part of a broader infrastructure discussion for the Pune Metropolitan Region, which includes Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and surrounding areas. Fadnavis referred to planned and ongoing projects such as the outer and inner ring roads, the High Capacity Mass Transit Route and proposed tunnels.
He said the government was working towards coordinated development across the metropolitan region. The Chief Minister also said that ₹5,000 crore would be made available through the Centre for the PMR Growth Centre, with the funding intended to support the next phase of regional development work.
The immediate operational significance of Line 3 will be its connection between Maan, Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar, while the wider regional plans will determine how the corridor fits into Pune’s expanding transport network. The government has not provided, in the supplied announcement, further details on the funding release schedule or the next implementation milestones for the other projects.
