Modi Inaugurates Pune Metro Pink Line Connecting Hinjawadi IT Hub

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated Pune Metro Line 3, known as the Pink Line, on November 3, 2026. The 23-kilometre corridor connects Maan in the Hinjawadi IT hub to the District Court Metro station at Shivajinagar. The line was built at a cost of more than Rs 8,300 crore.

Commercial passenger services were scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. on November 4. An all-women team of roughly 100 drivers will operate the trains, the first such arrangement for a full metro line in India. About 30 percent of the line's electricity needs will be met through solar power. The corridor integrates with the existing metro network and is intended to cut commute times for the large number of information technology workers traveling between residential areas and the Hinjawadi campus.

Modi also laid the foundation stone for four additional metro corridors under Phase II of the Pune project. Those corridors are estimated to cost around Rs 13,500 crore and form part of a broader package of roughly Rs 21,800 crore in new metro works. The Phase II routes are expected to expand the city's metro network toward 120 kilometres once completed and will improve links to residential, commercial, and employment zones, including areas near the proposed Purandar airport.

In his address, Modi noted that India's operational metro network has grown from 248 kilometres before 2014 to about 1,200 kilometres. He said improved urban transport infrastructure supports productivity and economic growth. The ceremony was held at the Balewadi sports complex in the presence of Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and other state officials. Modi participated by video link.

The Pink Line is designed to reduce road congestion on routes that have long been strained by traffic to and from Hinjawadi. Local authorities have described the project as a response to years of complaints from IT professionals about multi-hour daily commutes. Integration with existing lines will allow passengers to transfer without leaving the metro system.

Construction of the first phase of Pune Metro began after Modi laid the foundation stone roughly a decade earlier. The addition of Line 3 marks a further expansion of the network in a city that has become a major center for information technology, automotive manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. Officials expect the new line to shift a portion of daily trips from private vehicles to public transport.

The broader Phase II program includes extensions of existing lines and new corridors covering Vanaz to Chandani Chowk, Ramwadi to Vitthalwadi, Kharadi to Khadakwasla, and Nal Stop to Manik Baug, among others. Once finished, the expanded system is projected to serve a larger share of the metropolitan region's population and support growth linked to the new airport.

The inauguration forms part of a continuing national expansion of metro systems in multiple cities. Whether the projected ridership materializes will depend on service reliability, last-mile connectivity, and the relative cost and convenience compared with road travel. Early operations on the Pink Line will provide the first operational data on those factors.