E-Paper
Revised Pune-Nashik rail route approved; GMRT zone kept out
The ministry of railways had earlier given an “in-principle” approval to the project that would cut through the GMRT array of parabolic antennas across 30 km in a radio-quiet region in Pune district’s Narayangaon area.
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Pune: Responding to suggestions on the pending proposed ₹16,000-crore Pune-Nashik high-speed rail project, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that a revised alignment has been finalised that avoids the sensitive scientific zone around the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT).
The ministry of railways had earlier given an “in-principle” approval to the project that would cut through the GMRT array of parabolic antennas across 30 km in a radio-quiet region in Pune district’s Narayangaon area.
Vaishnaw said the railways remained committed to a “scientifically safe and economically beneficial” Pune–Nashik link. “After detailed consultations with stakeholders, we finalised an alignment that protects the GMRT observatory while meeting the connectivity needs of the people,” he said.
The department of science and technology and the department of atomic energy had opposed the earlier alignment highlighting that rail activity near GMRT could disrupt its international radio astronomy operations.
The revised route will run through Nashik–Sainagar Shirdi–Puntamba–Nimblak–Ahilyanagar–Pune, passing through the Chakan industrial belt. Officials said the change adds only a marginal difference in travel time.
Progress along the corridor is already underway. The DPR for doubling the Nashik Road–Sainagar Shirdi line is ready; ₹240 crore has been sanctioned for doubling the 17-km Shirdi–Puntamba stretch. The 80-km Puntamba–Nimblak doubling is complete, and work on the 6-km Nimblak–Ahilyanagar section is in progress. A ₹8,970-crore DPR has been prepared for 133 km of new double lines between Ahilyanagar and Pune via Chakan.
The corridor is expected to boost pilgrimage, cultural and historical tourism by directly linking Nashik, Shirdi and Pune.
