Pune-Lonavla route to get a third line

Work on the new third line in the Pune-Lonavla section will begin soon, while new amenities will make Pune station more passenger-friendly

The railway Budget announced on Tuesday got a lukewarm response from Pune citizens, who had expressed hopes for better amenities at Pune Station, as well as better connectivity, particularly in the Pune-Mumbai sector. Responding to the citizens’ disappointment, divisional railway manager, Suneet Sharma revealed on Wednesday that plans had already been prepared for new projects that would tackle two major demands of the commuters.

Passengers had emphasised on the need for the addition of a third line in the Pune-Lonavla section, which connects the busy metro cities, Pune and Mumbai. File pic

Passengers had emphasised on the need for the addition of a third line in the Pune-Lonavla section, which connects the busy metro cities, Pune and Mumbai. When asked about this, Sharma responded, “The survey for the Pune-Lonavla line has already been completed, and work for the same is expected to begin soon after allocation of funds.” While presenting the Railway Budget on Tuesday, Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda had announced the installation of escalators at major railway stations across the country. At present, Pune Railway Station has one escalator situated beside the existing Foot over-bridge (FOB) near the ticket booking counters.

With plans in place to install four escalators and two additional battery-operated vehicles for differently-abled passengers, Pune Station will receive a passenger-friendly makeover of sorts, said Sharma. “Pune Railway Station will have four escalators, two on platform one, and two on platform six. We will start work for the same shortly. This will help the senior citizens to commute from one platform to another,” said Sharma, adding that the proposal had already been presented.

He further added, “As of now we have one battery-operated car at Platform one. However, we need two new battery-operated cars which can be used on platform two and four.”

Apart form these two major changes, Sharma spoke of other new amenities to be added as well. “We have several plans which are underway, like introducing online booking of platform tickets, along with better retiring rooms for passenger convenience. Beside this we are striving hard to keep the railway premises clean for passengers.”

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