Shravan Hardikar, Managing Director of Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) on Wednesday said that passenger services on 8 km of new stretch will be operations by the end of 2025. He was addressing a gathering of Maha Metro Nagpur officials and employees at the 10th Foundation Day celebrations held at Metro Bhawan. Maha Metro Director (Strategic Planning) Anil Kokate; Director (Finance) Harindar Pande; Director (Project) Rajiv Tyagi were also present on the occasion. The work on the second phase of Nagpur Metro project has started, he said and added that a target to operationalise 8 km of route is being set. Maha Metro ridership has seen an upward trend over a period and has reached the figure of 80,000 per day. To cater to this increasing commuter footfall, Nagpur Metro is planning to reduce the head way up to 7.30 minutes, Hardikar said.

 

“Nagpur city houses about 9 lakh families. Even if one person per family commutes by Metro, Maha Metro Nagpur would meet its ridership goals. Over a period of 10 years, since its formation Maha Metro Nagpur has performed exceptionally,” he said. The credit of accolades won by Maha Metro Nagpur over the years goes to the hard work put in by the employees, he pointed out. “As Nagpur Metro embarks on its onward Phase-II journey, it is essential for its staff to be ready for the future challenges. We all must strive to make Nagpur Metro the best in the business,” he said and emphasised the need for systematic planning to avoid last minute glitches during execution of the project and also to ensure its timely completion. “I have been involved with Maha Metro in various capacity at Nagpur and Pune. The people of these two cities have reposed faith in us and we as an institution have to ensure that this sentiment is not proved wrong,” he said. As part of the week long celebrations, Maha Metro organised sports competitions.