Purple Line (Pune Metro)

Initial Proposal

On 15 August 2008, the preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) work was undertaken by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and submitted their report.^[9] The DPR proposed two corridors, one of which included a line running from PCMC to Swargate. The line, which was referred to as Corridor 1 before being given the name "Purple" was proposed to span 16.589 km (10.308 mi) of which 11.570 km (7.189 mi) was elevated and 5.019 km (3.119 mi) was underground.^[10] The DPR also proposed 15 stations of which 6 were underground and 9 were elevated.^[10] However, the DPR had to be modified and updated several times before it was finally sent to the state and central government. The DPR was finally approved by the State in June 2012.^[11][12] However, it received the final approval from the Central Government only on 7 December 2016, almost 4.5 years later.^[13]

Bhakti Shakti Extension

In January 2018 PCMC leadership and local MLA's began demanding extension of the metro line from PCMC to Bhakti Shakti. Many civil groups soon started protesting for the extension. Following the increasing public demand PCMC allocated a portion of their budget to Maha Metro to prepare a DPR for the Bhakti Shakti extension. In October 2018, Maha Metro submitted the DPR to the PCMC Standing Committee.^[14][15][16] The DPR proposed a 4.519 km (2.808 mi) elevated extension with 4 stations and an estimated cost of ₹1,253 crore (US$130 million). The State government then approved the extension in February 2021 and the extension received its final approval from the Central government on 23 October 2023.^[17]

In late 2023 to early 2024 Maha Metro awarded several tenders for the line. The detailed design consultancy was awarded LKT Engineering for ₹1.11 crore (US$120,000) while the construction of 4.519 km (2.808 mi) viaduct was awarded to RVNL for a cost of ₹339.23 crore (US$36 million).^[18][19] Maha Metro later released tenders for the construction of the 4 stations, which is still under tendering process.

Katraj Extension

In January 2018 the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) approved Maha Metro to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for extending the Purple Line from Swargate to Katraj.^[20] The DPR was later submitted to the PMC in January 2020. The DPR proposed a 5.464 km (3.395 mi) extensions with 3 stations costing a total of ₹4,283.72 crore (US$450 million). Later on 17 March 2020, the extension was approved by PMC's standing committee.^[21] The DPR was then forwarded to the general committee who approved the extension in March 2021, who then forwarded it to the state government.^[22] The state government then approved the extension in April 2022 and it received its final approval from the central government on 16 August 2024.^[23][24] was approved by the State in June 2012.^[25][26] However, it received the final approval from the Central Government only on 7 December 2016,

However, following public consultations, there was significant backlash regarding the long distance between the stations. To address this concern, two additional stations—Balaji Nagar and Bibwewadi—were proposed..^[27][28] The revised proposal would increase the cost by ₹683 crore (US$72 million). The state government later announced it would take the financial burden of funding the two additional stations. Mahametro later revised the tender to include the construction of two additional stations.^[29][30]

Signalling

The Purple Line utilises the Alstom Urbalis 400 communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling system. Alstom was awarded a EUR90 million contract to supply the signalling and telecommunications systems for the Purple and Aqua Lines, as well as Mumbai Metro Line 2 and Line 7.^[31]