Pune Metro is set to increase train frequency during peak hours, with services planned every five minutes after trials are completed on its operational corridors, according to MahaMetro managing director Shravan Hardikar. The change is intended to ease crowding for commuters travelling during the morning and evening rush.
Trials for the five-minute service interval have been completed on the Vanaz-Ramwadi corridor, while testing is under way on the Swargate-Pimpri-Chinchwad corridor, Loksatta reported. Until the trials are completed, MahaMetro will continue to run trains every six minutes during peak periods.
The proposed five-minute frequency will apply during the morning peak from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the evening peak from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. During non-peak periods, trains will continue to operate at an interval of about 10 minutes, according to the report.
The change comes as average daily ridership on the Pune Metro has crossed 250,000 passengers. Over the past week, 1,783,939 passengers used the system, generating revenue of Rs 2.71 crore, the report said. On Saturday, September 5, daily ridership reached 277,000 passengers, the highest single-day figure reported so far.
The proposed increase in frequency would reduce the scheduled gap between trains from six minutes to five minutes during the busiest travel periods. The additional service is expected to provide more frequent boarding opportunities on the two corridors, although MahaMetro has not announced a specific date for the full rollout in the report.
MahaMetro is also changing operating hours during the Ganesh festival. Services will run until 11 p.m. during the first three days of the festival, as usual. After that, trains will operate until midnight, while a 24-hour service is planned on the immersion day. During the festival period, peak-hour trains will continue to run at six-minute intervals until the five-minute schedule is introduced after the required trials are completed.
