Pune, Nashik to be connected by semi high-speed rail

Maharashtra's two important towns, Pune and Nashik, would be connected through a Greenfield semi high-speed double line railway network.

The Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDC or MahaRail), a joint venture of the government of Maharashtra and Ministry of Railways on 50:50 basis, will be implementing the project.

A Detailed Project Report (DPR) was submitted to the Central Railway (CR), which has been approved.

Once, all the approvals are granted from respective authorities, the project is estimated to be completed in 1,200 days from the date of financial closure. The Greenfield semi-high-speed double line between Pune and Nashik will provide direct connectivity between the two important districts. It will take two hours to complete the journey for passengers.

The MRIDC has envisaged the coaching configuration of six rakes with a carrying capacity of 450 passengers per train. A total number of 48 trips will be made by six rakes in a day for the initial phase.

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

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 pilgrim places in the Pune-Nashik corridor.

The total length of this project is 235.15 km with 24 stations being planned by MRIDC. It is proposed that there will be eight major stations and 16 minor stations for passenger traffic.

The MRIDC has plans to develop Private Freight Terminal (PFT), dry port multimodal and commercial hub, warehouses and sidings at suggested locations by the local industries.

The body is inviting equity partners to participate in the project with debt-equity ratio proposed at 60:40. It is likely to be the first broad gauge railway line with the commercial speed of 200Km/h.