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Maha-Metro likely to start early morning service
The early morning Metro service is aimed to cater to college students and long-distance commuters who extensively use the Pune and Shivajinagar railway stations
PUNE
A day after Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar travelled in the Pune Metro between Vanaz to Ruby Hall Clinic stations, The Maha-Metro officials confirmed that they are mulling the proposal for the service at 6 am starting next Monday. The early morning Metro service is aimed to cater to college students and long-distance commuters who extensively use the Pune and Shivajinagar railway stations.
Apart from the Deccan Queen and Pragati Express trains, which leave Pune Station at 7 am and 7.45 am respectively, as many as 10 other early morning trains have direct connections with Mumbai. As the Metro service commences at 7 am currently, the daily commuters are not able to avail of it as a feeder service to reach Shivajinagar and Pune Railway stations.
Commenting on the subject, Shravan Hardikar, Managing Director of Maha-Metro, stated, “The current Metro service is not ideal for commuters who have to catch long-distance trains from Pune railway station or Shivajinagar. Considering the high number of daily commuters to Mumbai, we are considering starting the Metro service at 6 am.”
After Ajit Pawar travelled in the Metro on Saturday, it is understood that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Pune district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil have earmarked the Metro officials to tweak the schedule to suit the early morning travellers.
Reacting to the issue, Atul Gadgil, Director (Operations) of Maha-Metro said, apart from the commuters, the city has a large number of students, who attend colleges early in the morning. Even many of them have requested that our service begin around 6 in the morning.
“The Metro is witnessing around 1.5 lakh footfall over the weekends on both routes. We are thinking of starting the early morning service from next Monday as we have to adjust the schedules accordingly,” Gadgil said.
Currently, Maha-Metro operates 13 Metro trains, with two spares, linking key places throughout the city. The Metro service runs at regular intervals of 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with a train frequency of 15 minutes during peak hours.
Vivek Shinde, a Garware College student, who stays in the Pune Railway Station area, welcomed the decision to start the Metro service early.
“Most colleges in Pune city have morning classes starting as early as early as 7.30 a.m. However, most students cannot avail themselves of the Metro service as it starts at 7 am. Now, with the early morning trains, many will be able to travel to colleges using the Metro service,” Shinde said.
