Pune-Nashik semi high-speed railway line gets approval

The Pune-Nashik semi high-speed double railway line has got the green signal from the Ministry of Railways. This will be the first semi high-speed railway corridor on a broad gauge line in the world.

So far, all the high-speed trains are running on standard gauge.

The Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDC or MahaRail), a joint venture of Government of Maharashtra and Ministry of Railways on 50:50 basis, is undertaking the project.

The MRIDC will be the first corporation to design the railway line with semi high-speed train on a broad gauge line with speed up to 250 kmph.

This line will provide direct connectivity between Pune and Nashik, two highly-industrial and urban cities - and the 231 km journey between the two cities will be completed in less than 2 hours.

Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, Managing Director, MahaRail, said: “This project will not only attract goods trains but also the high-speed train will attract more passengers to the route as the travel time will reduce less than two hours. The travel time from Pune to Nashik will be completed in 1 hour and 45 mins."

The MRIDC has also planned to develop Private Freight Terminal (PFT), Dry Port, Multimodal and Commercial Hub, Warehouses and Sidings at suggested locations by the local industries.

As this Pune-Nashik belt has huge industries, this project will open a new revenue for industries by fast-track movements of cargo by Railways as important MIDC areas such as Chakan, Sinnar and Satpur will be directly connected by this railway line.

There will be a provision for EMU shuttle also to run on this corridor, as this will also help daily passengers to travel to the cosmopolitan cities from the suburbs.

This Railway line will pass through three districts of Maharashtra i.e. Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik providing seamless connectivity to industrial zones of Pune and Nashik such as Alandi, Chakan, Khed, Manchar, Narayangaon, Sinnar and Satpur. Apart from these MIDC areas, the proposed line will cater to another important Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Khed, Narayangaon and Manchar. This project will also provide benefit to tourism and pilgrimage places in Pune–Nashik corridor.

The entire cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 16,039 crore (including taxes); MRIDC shall invite equity partners to participate in the project.

Once, the approvals are granted from the government of Maharashtra, the project is estimated to be completed in 1,200 days from the date of financial closure.

The train will start from new proposed Pune Railway station and it will be going to Hadapsar on an elevated deck, from Hadapsar to Nashik the train will run on the ground and will go up to Nashik Road Railway station. The proposed new Pune Railway station for the semi high-speed train will have a commercial complex and multimodal hub.

The trains will initially have six coaches designed to run at speed of 200 kmph on the broad gauge line. The number of coaches will increase to 12 and then to 16. The proposed alignment is designed such that there will be no compromising on speed. The proposed alignment will pass through the talukas of Pune, Haveli, Khed, Ambegaon and Junnar tehsils of Pune district, Sangamner tehsil of Ahmednagar district and Sinnar and Nasik tehsils of Nasik district.

The project will have the influence in the buffer zone of 25 km radius having eight numbers of MIDC areas, two major industrial areas, two major industrial estate operated by cooperative groups i.e. 12 industrial estates with an area of 10,000 + hectares.

This rail line will certainly augment the revenues from the multi-fold industries like automobile hub, machinery, electronics, pharmaceuticals, sugar mills and other agricultural activities around the project influential regions. The passengers of varied travel purposes such as tourism, educations, agricultural and as well as business and daily shuttles will have ample facilities to connect with the rest of the country.

All the intercity movements and transportation for both passengers and freight will flourish because of faster movement on the rail line between Pune and Nashik.

This rail line will help to connect South and North due to this shorter and faster route between the cities.