Pune railway station sees surge in footfall
In the current financial year 2025-26 (up to June), the number has climbed even further to 1,71,696 passengers per day, marking an increase of more than 10,000 passengers per day over three years
The Pune railway station has witnessed a significant surge in daily passenger footfall over the last three years, underlining the growing pressure on the infrastructure and prompting authorities to expedite plans for shifting a portion of train operations to newly developed terminals at Hadapsar and Khadki.
According to Pune railway division data, the daily average footfall at Pune station has risen from 1,55,045 passengers per day in 2023-24 to 1,63,212 in 2024-25. In the current financial year 2025-26 (up to June), the number has climbed even further to 1,71,696 passengers per day, marking an increase of more than 10,000 passengers per day over three years.
Railway officials attribute this rise to both an increase in train services and the growing preference for rail travel in and out of Pune.
Hemantkumar Behera, spokesperson for the Pune railway division, said, “The passenger numbers have grown in tandem with the expansion of train services. As the number of trains operating from Pune has increased, it is natural that the number of passengers has also gone up significantly. The station is nearing its saturation point in terms of handling daily operations,”
Behera added that the railways is actively working on a solution to ease the load. “Once the upcoming terminals at Hadapsar and Khadki become operational by next year for long-distance train services, the heavy passenger footfall will be distributed more evenly across the network. It will help decongest Pune station and improve overall passenger experience,” he explained.
The space constraints and growing traffic at the railway station have made it increasingly challenging to manage operations efficiently. The development of Hadapsar and Khadki as full-fledged terminals has been a long-pending demand from both passengers and city planners. The Hadapsar terminal, situated in the eastern part of Pune, is expected to cater primarily to trains heading toward Solapur, Hyderabad, and southern India, while Khadki is being developed to handle trains bound for Mumbai, northern India, and Gujarat.
Shashank Jambhale, a frequent passenger, said, “I’ve been travelling from here for the past six years, and earlier, it was easier to navigate through the station, but now, it’s always packed, especially during peak hours. The platforms are crowded, the waiting areas are overflowing, and even getting a rickshaw outside has become a challenge.”
“I think shifting some train operations to places like Hadapsar or Khadki is a great idea. It will make things much smoother and more convenient for passengers who live closer to those areas. It’s high time the pressure is taken off the main station,” he said.
