Modi inaugurates 23-km Pune Metro Pink Line; commercial service begins 4 November

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Pune Metro Line 3, the 23-kilometre Pink Line connecting Maan-Hinjawadi to the District Court Metro station at Shivajinagar, through video conferencing on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. Commercial passenger services begin at 6 am on Wednesday. The corridor was built at a cost of over Rs 8,300 crore and is intended to serve IT professionals who commute daily between the city and the Hinjawadi technology hub.

An all-women team of around 100 drivers will operate the trains, the first such arrangement in the country. Approximately 30 percent of the line’s electricity requirements will be met through solar power. Modi also laid the foundation stone for four additional metro corridors under Phase II, involving a total investment of around Rs 21,800 crore. Phase II itself is estimated at Rs 13,500 crore and comprises Lines 2A, 2B, 4 and 4A covering residential, commercial and IT areas.

Modi stated that India’s operational metro network has grown from 248 km before 2014 to 1,200 km today. He linked the expansion to improved ease of living and transportation for urban middle-class residents and to broader economic growth. The new Pune line, he said, will save commuting time for professionals and thereby raise productivity. The virtual inauguration included the foundation-stone ceremony for the Phase II corridors.

The Pink Line runs from the Hinjawadi IT park through intermediate stations to the District Court station in Shivajinagar. Daily road congestion on the route has been a long-standing complaint among the workforce that travels between residential areas and the technology campuses. Metro service is expected to reduce that surface traffic. Timings and station details were released ahead of the first commercial runs on 4 November.

The all-women driver contingent marks a staffing first for Indian metro systems. Training and certification for the team were completed before the inauguration. Solar generation covering 30 percent of the line’s power needs reduces the draw on the grid and aligns with the larger non-fossil capacity targets announced separately by the Prime Minister. The combination of new infrastructure and renewable power supply for operations is presented as part of the urban transport upgrade.

Phase II corridors will extend coverage to additional residential and commercial zones. The Rs 21,800 crore figure for the four new lines includes land, construction, and systems costs. Construction timelines have not been detailed beyond the foundation-stone stage. The existing Pink Line is fully built and ready for revenue service.

Modi’s comparison of the national metro network from 248 km to 1,200 km covers the period since 2014. Multiple cities have added or expanded systems in that interval. Pune’s addition of the 23 km Pink Line contributes to that aggregate. The virtual format of the inauguration allowed the Prime Minister to open the line and lay multiple foundation stones in a single session.

Passenger operations start at 6 am on 4 November. Frequency and fare information will be managed by the metro operator. The all-women crew will be visible on the trains from the first day of service. Solar contribution of 30 percent applies to the energy consumed by the line itself rather than to the wider city grid.

The project cost of over Rs 8,300 crore for 23 km places the per-kilometre outlay within the range of other recent Indian metro corridors. Funding combined central, state and other sources. The PPP elements noted in some reports involve Tata and Siemens for specific systems packages. Full commercial handover occurred after trial runs and safety certification.

IT professionals in Hinjawadi have cited multi-hour road journeys as a daily constraint. The metro connection to Shivajinagar provides a fixed-time alternative. Ridership projections will be tested once service begins. Early operational data on punctuality and passenger volumes will indicate whether the time-saving claim materialises at scale.

The inauguration and foundation-stone events on 3 November complete the formal opening of the Pink Line and initiate the next construction phase. Service starts the following morning. The national metro network figure of 1,200 km now includes this latest addition, and the Phase II corridors will add further kilometres once completed.