Overview
- PITCMRL completed end‑to‑end trial runs and cleared RDSO oscillation tests on Thursday, and the project is now waiting for a final Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety visit and statutory approvals to begin passenger services.
- Operations will roll out in phases with a 13.3 km first section serving 12 stations between Maan and RK Laxman Museum expected within days to weeks, a wider opening targeted by the end of August, and two busy Shivajinagar stations deferred to around March 2027.
- Line 3 uses 750 V DC third‑rail electrification and CBTC signalling, and its Make‑in‑India three‑coach Alstom trainsets have been approved to run up to 85 km/h.
- The corridor is being delivered as India’s first metro under the 2017 New Metro Rail Policy on a 35‑year DBFOT public‑private concession led by a Tata‑Siemens joint venture, with about Rs 5,500 crore in bank lending, roughly Rs 2,200 crore in government viability gap funding, and an estimated total cost near Rs 8,300–8,500 crore.
- When fully open, the line is expected to cut Hinjawadi–Shivajinagar travel time from about 90 minutes to roughly 45 minutes, serve tens of thousands of IT commuters, integrate with Maha Metro at District Court, and be operated by Keolis with an all‑women train‑operator cadre of about 100 recruits.