PM Modi inaugurates Pune Metro Line 3, says expansion will boost connectivity, economic growth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the expansion of Pune’s Metro network would improve ease of living, reduce commuting time and boost economic productivity, as he virtually inaugurated the 23.2-km Maan-Hinjawadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 and laid the foundation stone for four corridors under Pune Metro Phase II.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Modi said Pune had emerged as an important centre for information technology, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, startups and manufacturing, making improved public transport essential to the city’s continued growth.

“The stronger metro connectivity here is going to give new momentum to the development of Pune city,” Mr. Modi said. Highlighting the link between urban mobility and economic growth, the Prime Minister said cities are increasingly judged by their competitiveness and quality of life.

“When a city’s time is saved, its productivity increases. When productivity increases, the country’s economy gains momentum, and when the economy grows, both the poor and the middle-class benefit,” he said. Mr. Modi said Metro expansion was not merely about improving transportation but also about making cities more competitive and improving living standards.

He added that better connectivity between Pune’s established neighbourhoods and emerging commercial areas would help the city sustain its economic growth. The Prime Minister also highlighted the expansion of India’s Metro network over the past 12 years, saying the operational network had grown from 248 km in 2014 to nearly 1,200 km, with services now available in 26 cities.

He said more than one crore passengers used Metro services daily across the country, placing India’s network among the three largest in the world. Referring to Maharashtra, Modi said the State had around 200 km of operational Metro lines, while work was underway on more than 680 km of additional corridors, with investments exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh crore in Metro infrastructure.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the public-private partnership (PPP) model used to develop Pune Metro Line 3, describing it as an example of cooperation between the government and the private sector that could accelerate infrastructure development.

Speaking about broader urban development, Modi said the Centre had approved an Urban Challenge Fund to attract investment and transform cities into economic growth centres. He urged local bodies and private companies to participate in developing modern infrastructure that would improve the quality of urban life.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who attended the ceremony in Pune, said the Hinjawadi-Shivajinagar corridor would provide relief to thousands of IT professionals who frequently spent between one and two hours commuting through traffic.

Fadnavis described the corridor as a “Pink Powered” Metro, highlighting women’s contribution to its construction and operation. He said around 120 km of Metro corridors were either operational or under construction in Pune.

He expressed confidence that Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and the wider metropolitan region would emerge as a major urban mobility hub by 2030, supported by Metro expansion, electric buses, ring roads and other transport infrastructure.

Mr. Fadnavis also described Metro projects as an “economic multiplier”, saying investments in public transport would generate employment, attract businesses and support economic activity. He said the Centre had provided ₹5,000 crore for developing the Pune Metropolitan Region as a major urban infrastructure and economic growth centre.

The funding would support efforts to strengthen connectivity and develop integrated transport infrastructure across the region. The Chief Minister also recalled that Modi had laid the foundation stone for the Hinjawadi-Shivajinagar corridor in 2018 and was now inaugurating the completed project.

The newly inaugurated Pink Line, developed at ₹8,313 crore under the public-private partnership-based Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model, connects Maan-Hinjawadi to Shivajinagar through 23 elevated stations along a 23.203-km corridor.