The coaches for the Pune metro priority corridor (Sant Tukaramnagar – Phugewadi) already elevated on the tracks now Pune metro officials are about to declare the date of launch.

The residents will have to wait for at least four more months, starting in January 2020, to be able to actually use the metro rail.

On Tuesday, the metro coaches were given a warm welcome and decorated with flowers and balloons. “The trial run has already begun from December 31 and the work on coaches, tracks and stations will be completed in three months. Post completion, three government agencies — the railway board, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Commissioner of Railway Safety (CMRS) — will certify the entire metro stretch. After we get the certification, we will need a few more weeks, before we open the service for the public. This will be done only if everything goes as per our plan.” Said Brijesh Dixit, managing director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) at a press conference.

The seven-km stretch between Sant Tukaramnagar and Phugewadi, where the trial run is happening, will first operate only between these two stations, while the work on Nashik phata and Kasarwadi, which falls between these two stations, is yet to be completed. Currently, 63 per cent works is completed at the priority stations. The residents will only be able to use the metro once the work on all the stations is complete, said Dixit.