The Pune Metro is all set to complete work on the country’s deepest underground metro station in the city by next month and make it operational by the end of March.
“The Civil Court Interchange station is 33.1 metre deep (108.59 feet) and will be the deepest metro station in the country. The station has also the speciality of having its roof at a height of 95 feet and the natural light of the sun falling on the floor of the underground station. It is the only underground station that has sunlight falling on the platform of the underground station,” said Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (Maha-Metro), which is implementing the Pune Metro rail project.
The interchange station with one underground station for the Pimpri-Chinchwad to Swargate route and another elevated station on the Vanaz to Ramwadi route in the same structure will further be connected to the third line from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar.
“The Civil Court interchange station will be established as a central business district. It will comprise a commercial complex of 10 lakh square feet and a bus terminus, apart from the metro stations. It will have eight lifts and 18 escalators for commuters at the station,” Dixit said.
He said the entire area is spread over 11.17 acre with seven gates to enter the premises. There is going to be ample space for parking and a separate lane for drop and go and PMPML bus stand, he added.
A Metro Bhavan above the elevated station will be built and it would be the main office of the Pune Metro. The overall master plan for development has been planned in two phases. In the first phase, the interchange station for Vanaz to Ramwadi Line 1 and Pimpri Chinchwad to Swargate Line 2 will meet.
This interchange station will be completed by February and operational by March end as the trial on the route connecting the station from Vanaz and Pimpri Chinchwad has been successful. The elevated station of the Vanaz to Ramwadi metro route will be 14 metres above ground and diagonal to the underground metro rail route while the ground floor will have a common interchange lobby.
“This interchange station will later be connected to the third metro rail route being developed from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar by Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) via a 150-metre-long skywalk,” Dixit said.
In the second phase, the Metro Bhavan will be constructed above the elevated rail station and would be the corporate office of Maha-Metro. The premises will have an open-air amphitheatre with a sitting capacity of 200 people, a ‘fragrance garden’ along with a green wall and water feature to enhance the appearance of the landscape as there will be a lawn area of 6,900 sq m, shrub area of 8,100 sq m and 421 trees of local species.
“The commercial building will be a separate building within the premises of the multi-mode transport hub,” Dixit said.
