Profile of the city
Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad is the next largest urban conglomerate to Mumbai Metropolitan Region in Maharashtra. These cities are considered to be educational hubs due to the establishment of large number of educational institutes across the city. Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad have been experiencing tremendous growth in population and employment since the last two decades. The cities have been stretching their limits to the widest extent possible, thus urban sprawl has become evident. The growth in various industries, particularly automobile, IT and IT enabled services, in and around Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad has added further impetus to the urban sprawl and increase in population and employment. The district also has an importance as an important military base. The urbanization of this Pune & Pimpri - Chinchwad will receive a big impetus in the next 30 years due to the ambitious development plan of the 7000 sq. km Pune Metropolitan Region
Pune City's transportation demand is predominantly catered to by PMPML, the Intermediate Public Transport System (IPT) in the form of shared services along major arterials, and the Commuter Rail System. Pune Metro Phase-1 is operational for 29.66 KM.
Further, the section from District Court to Swargate is on the verge of completion. The Phase-1 extension on the north side, from PCMC to Nigdi, is currently under construction.
Maha Metro has received sanction for the Pune Metro Phase-1 extension on the southern side, from Swargate to Katraj. This 5.46 KM completely underground Metro line extends the PCMC–Swargate corridor to Katraj. The Swargate to Katraj section will have three stations: Market Yard, Padmavati, and Katraj.
This line provides connectivity to Market Yard, which is the largest market for food grains, vegetables, fruits, and flowers. It also connects to the very popular Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and educational institutions like Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University. Dhankawadi, Padmavati, Balaji Nagar, and Bibvewadi are major residential hubs on this route. At Katraj, the metro line connects the city bus depot (PMPML), Katraj-Kondhwa Road, and Katraj Bypass Road, which connects to the Mumbai-Bangalore road.