Bengaluru: The Maharashtra government has approved the pending Pune- Nashik railway project in annual budget 2021-22.

The much-awaited Pune-Nashik Semi-High speed Rail Line will bring down travel time between two cities from the present six hours to one and half hours, boosting passenger and freight movements. Thus, it will facilitate the creation of the Mumbai-Pune-Nashik golden triangle as an emerging economic hub.

The government plans to build a 235-kilometre-long high speed rail line between the cities of Pune and Nashik at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore, as reported by Hindustan Times.

“The proposed length of the medium high speed railway line is about 235 km and 24 stations are planned on the route. The speed of the train will be 200 km per hour and the expected cost of the project is Rs16,039 crore,” said Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra deputy chief minister and finance minister, as quoted by Swarajya. 

Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, managing director, Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (MahaRail) said, “The state has approved the Pune-Nashik railway project. Once we get the requisite approval from the central government’s cabinet committee and the Prime Minister’s office (PMO), the work would start on ground. We have already begun the land acquisition process for the project.”

“For the last one year I was following the project and gave a presentation to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Pawar. Post the Covid outbreak, we were worried about land acquisition issues, but the state’s approval will push the plan forward,” Shirur MP Amol Kolhe said, the website noted.