PUNE (Metro Rail News): Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, notified on Wednesday(17th June) that the Pune-Nashik direct semi-high-speed rail corridor has been revised due to technical issues concerning the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) facility in Pune making the route unfeasible. The new route will connect Pune to Nashik via Ahilyanagar and Shirdi.
The Maharashtra government had approved the original Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the route in June 2020, the initial DPR had a complicated route covering Lonawala, Karjat, Panvel, Diva, Kalyan, Igatpuri and Nashik across three districts.
The railway minister informed that the revised route for the Pune-Nashik semi-high-speed corridor will be Pune-Ahilyanagar-Shirdi-Nashik. Shri Vaishnaw further said that the DPR of the new route has already been prepared and work has begun. A large area has been sanctioned for the project. Additionally, considerable work has also been sanctioned.
The new corridor could lead to a significant decrease in the cost, while maintaining the travel time as almost similar to the original route. The initial budget of the project was around ₹35,000 Crores; the revised project is expected to be completed at approximately one-third of the initial cost.
Pune and Nashik are among the two major cities of Maharashtra contributing to the commercial, educational and industrial sectors of the state. The semi-high-speed corridor is expected to improve connectivity across the regions. The cities of Ahilyanagar and Shirdi will also benefit from this project.
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