Prime Minister Modi Inaugurates Pune Metro's 23 km Pink Line Operated by Women

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Pune Metro's 23 km Line 3, known as the Pink Line, on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, through video conferencing. The elevated corridor links the Hinjewadi IT hub with Shivajinagar and the District and Sessions Court. Commercial passenger services are scheduled to begin on 4 November.

The line was constructed at a cost of more than Rs 8,300 crore. It will be operated entirely by women. Roughly one-third of its electricity requirements are planned to come from solar energy. The inauguration took place at 12:30 pm; a ground event at the Balewadi Sports Complex earlier in the day included Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other state leaders.

Route, Stations and Fares

The 23 km elevated corridor runs from Maan and Hinjewadi IT Park to the District Court Metro station in Shivajinagar. Seventeen of the 23 stations will open initially. Balewadi High Street and Balewadi Phata stations are expected later in November or early December. The line integrates with the existing Pune Metro network at interchange stations.

Daily operating hours will run from 6 am to 11:40 pm. The minimum fare is Rs 12 and the maximum fare is Rs 62 for journeys longer than 18 km. That maximum is higher than the Rs 35 ceiling on the current network. Tickets will be available through WhatsApp, station counters, automatic vending machines and existing Maha Metro smart cards. The first train from Maan to the District Court is expected to take approximately 45 minutes.

Operational Features

All train operators and station staff on the Pink Line will be women. The solar component is intended to reduce grid dependence and operating costs over time. The corridor offers an alternative to road travel for thousands of daily commuters moving between the IT parks in Hinjewadi and central Pune. Traffic on the parallel road network has been a long-standing bottleneck.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted the women-operated nature of the line and the solar element in a post on X ahead of the inauguration. PMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari and Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited CEO Anilkumar Saini confirmed that preparations were complete.

Phase II Expansion

Alongside the Pink Line inauguration, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for four new metro corridors under Pune Metro Phase II. Those corridors are estimated to cost around Rs 13,500 crore and include extensions of existing Line 2 on its eastern and western sides. The combined investment in the new line and Phase II projects approaches Rs 21,800 crore. Passenger services on the Pink Line begin Wednesday morning, giving Hinjewadi residents their first direct metro link to central Pune.