The Pune railway station yard remodelling work will start by the end of this month and will take at least 28 days to be completed, as per information shared by the Pune railway division. The project has been under discussion since the last many years. During the course of the yard remodelling work, a few more train operations will be shifted to Hadapsar railway station.
Indu Rani Dubey, Pune divisional railway manager (DRM), said, “If everything goes well, the Pune railway station yard remodelling work will start by March end. While implementing such mega projects, we have to plan in micro details so that once the work starts, it does not stop in between and everyone knows what part of the work they have to do and how much time is available to them.”
“We are planning to shift a few more trains to Hadapsar railway station once the work begins, as the train operations will get disturbed at Pune railway station. We will try to complete the work in the least possible time so that passengers don’t face inconvenience,” she said.
The yard remodelling project was officially announced in 2018 with an aim to increase and develop the operations of long-distance trains with more than 24 coaches from Pune railway station. The Pune railway division then sent a proposal to the central railway board and after a lot of back and forth and the Covid-19 pandemic in between, the work is finally expected to begin at the end of this month.
The yard remodelling work aims to reduce the existing pressure on Pune railway station. Currently, Pune railway station runs more than 230 train operations via its six platforms. Out of the six, platform number 1 alone has the capacity for boarding 24 coach trains. Under the yard remodelling project, the lengths of all platforms will be increased to accommodate 26 coaches. The last remodelling exercise was carried out in 2009 following which in 2018, the then DRM Milind Deouskar planned and announced a new remodelling project looking at the increased passenger footfalls and train operations at Pune railway station.