The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) plans to open a 13-km stretch of Metro Line 3 — from Megapolis Circle to Balewadi Phata, by September this year, according to officials.

The 23.3-km metro line, which began construction in November 2021, is being developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) between PMRDA and Pune IT City Metro Rail, a consortium led by Tata Group and Siemens. Once completed, the line will feature 23 stations. The Metro is being developed in two phases, with a 14-km section from Maan to Balewadi Phata set for trial runs and limited operations later this year.

“On average, metro construction in India takes 8 to 14 months per kilometre. For a 23-kilometre stretch, the completion time is over four years. PMRDA’s pace is well ahead of this standard,” said a senior PMRDA Metro official. During the first actual trial run, PMRDA commissioner Yogesh Mhase noted, “Until now, testing was limited to the depot. This was the first trial run on the actual line, bringing us closer to operations."