Transport in Pune

Pune is city in the West of India, in the state of Maharashtra and is roughly 160 km east of Mumbai. The city lies approximately 3 miles along a river. The heart of the city is much older than the rest of the city. It has winding roads, many of which follow the natural slopes of the mountainous terrain and end at the rivers feeding the city. As the city expanded unevenly, a large number of roads were built around the central portion of the city, including the major highways which link the city to other parts of the country. The city is well connected to the other parts of state and India by road, rail, air etc.

Air Transport

Pune Airport is an international airport at Lohegaon, operated by the Airports Authority of India. It shares its runways with the neighbouring Indian Air Force base.^[1] In addition to domestic flights to all major Indian cities, this airport serves international direct flights to Dubai (operated by Air India Express)^[2] and to Frankfurt (operated by Lufthansa).^[3]

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation is responsible for the design and construction of a New Pune International Airport. The area between Chakan and Rajgurunagar, around the villages of Chandus and Shiroli, is being considered as a construction site. If constructed here, it will be at a distance of 40 km (25 mi) from central Pune.^[4]

Rail Transport

Local trains (EMUs) connect Pune to the industrial town of Pimpri-Chinchwad and the hill station of Lonavala, while daily express trains connect Pune to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Nagpur, Kanpur, Howrah, Jammu Tawi, Chennai, Bangalore, Goa, Varanasi, Patna, and Jamshedpur. At Pune, there is diesel locomotive shed and electric trip shed.^[5] A rapid transit system has been proposed in Pune and is scheduled to begin operations in 2013.^[6] Pune Metro Rail is being planned in consultation with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited, the corporation which built and operates the Delhi Metro. It will be a combination of elevated and underground sections, with initial routes being planned between Pimpri-Swargate and Vanaz-Ramwadi.

The city has a railway station, Pune Railway Station. The station is administrated by the Pune Railway Division of the Central Railways.^[7] All the railway lines to Pune are broad gauge.

Road Transport

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway India's first Expressway as seen from Khandala

Public Transport

Public buses within the city and its suburbs are operated by the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML). The PMPML operates the Pune Bus Rapid Transit system, the first of its kind in India, in which dedicated bus lanes were supposed to allow buses to travel quickly through the city. In reality the project has turned out to be a failure receiving little to no patronage from the local citizenry.^[8] Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation runs buses from its main stations in Shivajinagar, Pune station and Swargate to all major cities and towns in Maharashtra and neighbouring states. Private companies too run buses to major cities throughout India.^[9]

Pune is well-connected to other cities by Indian highways and state highways. National Highway 4 (NH 4) connects it to Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolhapur. NH 9 to Hyderabad, and NH 50 to Nashik. State highways connect it to Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, and Alandi.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, India's first six-lane high-speed expressway, was built in 2002, and has reduced travel time between Pune and Mumbai to almost two hours. A ring road is being planned for the convenience of heavy traffic.^[10]

Pune is served by two intra-city highways: Old Pune-Mumbai Highway and Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass, a part of National Highway 4. The Nashik City-Pune Highway NH 50 will be part of the golden triangle(Nashik-Pune-Mumbai).

See also

• Pune Municipal Transport

References

1. "Pune City". St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India.
2. "Pune goes global". The Times of India. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
3. Express News Service (1 July 2008). "City gears up for its first all-biz class Frankfurt-Pune flight". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
4. "Chakan airport gets state nod". Times of India. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
5. "Accolades for Pune division of Central Railway". The Indian Express. 21 April 2009.
6. "Three routes for metro rail in city identified". The Times of India. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
7. "Welcome to Central Railways" (in Hindi). Central Railways.
8. Manish Umbrajkar (5 March 2009). "2 years on, country's first BRTS remains incomplete". Times of India.
9. "Maharashtra State Road Transport". IndiaTransit.com. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
10. "PCMC grants Rs 6 crore for ring road project". The Times of India. 19 June 2003.