Pune Infra Watch: Metro lays elevated girder across Central Railway crossing to pave way for extension up to Nagar Road
Pune Metro completed the work on a major connecting link between Shivajinagar interchange station and Raja Bahadur Mill station by laying a girder across the Central Railway crossing, paving the way for the extension from Shivajinagar to Ramwadi on Nagar Road.
“The important work on the route from Vanaz to Ramwadi was completed Tuesday after the elevated steel girder was put across the Central Railway crossing at Sangamwadi and now the trial run on the stretch from Shivajinagar to Ramwadi can be started in the next few days,” said a Pune Metro officer.
The Pune Metro operations began on March 6 last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it. The operations started on a 5 km elevated stretch from Vanaz to Garware college and a 7 km stretch from the PCMC station to Phugewadi.
Pune Metro conducted a trial run last week for extending the operation from Garware college and Phugewadi to Shivajinagar interchange station. It plans to start commercial operation on both stretches soon after getting the nod from the Railway Safety Board.
“The viaduct work of Metro stretch from Civil Court interchange station to Ramwadi is 90 per cent complete. In the next few months, it will be completed. The construction work of stations on the stretch is also in progress. This stretch will connect the existing service to Pune railway station, Wadia college chowk, Bund Garden, Kalyaninagar and Ramwadi,” said Brijesh Dixit, managing director of Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) which is implementing Pune Metro.
The Pune Metro took two days to lay the steel girder over the railway crossing at Sangamwadi for which the Central Railway held a block on the route in the afternoon during the work. Two steel girders parallel to each other and having a length of 45 metres and weighing 115 metric tonnes each have been put on the route over the railway crossing. A heavy crane having a capacity of 400 metric tonnes was pressed into service for the work.
In phase one of Pune Metro, two routes — 17 km from the PCMC station to Swargate via Shivajinagar, and 16 km from Vanaz to Ramwadi via Shivajinagar — are being developed. The operation of the 12 km stretch has begun while the work on the remaining 21 km is in full swing as the plan is to complete it this year. The Vanaz to Ramwadi route is completely elevated. On the other route, from PCMC station to Rangehill station the Metro is elevated and from there it is underground up to Swargate.
