Pune Metro 3, connecting Mann-Hinjewadi with Shivajinagar, was inaugurated on November 3 amid strong public interest from IT employees, young commuters and residents who have waited years for a mass-transit alternative to the congested roads around Hinjewadi.
The inauguration triggered a wave of celebratory posts and short videos on social media. Users shared photographs of the metro, travel clips and messages welcoming the beginning of what they described as a new phase in Pune’s public transport. The launch was especially welcomed by employees working in and around the Hinjewadi IT Park, where daily road congestion has long affected travel time and predictability.
According to the report by Sakal – Pune, social media posts included slogans such as “A New Journey Begins”, “City Waited” and “The Moment Has Arrived”. Several users also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi while sharing images and videos related to the inauguration. The response reflected the anticipation that had built among commuters following repeated discussions about possible inauguration dates since March 2025.
The metro route is expected to provide a public-transport option for people travelling between the Mann-Hinjewadi employment district and Shivajinagar. Employees in the IT corridor have faced crowded roads, extended travel times and uncertainty over when they will reach their workplaces. Various measures had previously been attempted to address congestion in the area, but the metro was viewed as a more substantial public-transport alternative.
The inauguration itself became a sequence of widely shared moments. Videos from the car shed at Mann, including its decorations and preparations for the train, were posted online along with footage of activity at stations and the launch event at Balewadi. Metro passengers and staff also recorded parts of the process on their mobile phones.
The scale of the online response shows how closely the project has been associated with the daily mobility challenges of Hinjewadi’s workforce. Young commuters, including members of Generation Z, used reels and photographs to document the metro’s arrival, while comments and reactions from Pune residents welcomed the new service.
The launch marks the end of a long period of anticipation, but the service’s wider effect on daily commuting will depend on how passengers use it alongside existing road-based transport. For now, the inauguration has placed Pune Metro 3 at the centre of the city’s public-transport conversation, with commuters focusing on the beginning of operations between Mann-Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar.
