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Pune Metro sees increase in passenger numbers amid heavy rains, traffic congestion

Pune Metro sees increase in passenger numbers amid heavy rains, traffic congestion

Pune: The ridership on the Pune Metro crossed over one lakh in the last three rainy days as commuters used the facility to avoid waterlogging and traffic jams. Some users are travelling by metro to see flooded areas, according to officials of Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro).

The number of passengers in Pune Metro crossed hundreds of thousands during the past three rainy days. Commuters used the metro to avoid flooding and traffic jams. (HT)

The number of passengers on the Pune Metro crossed the one lakh-mark on Wednesday, but fell again on Thursday after the Pune district collector declared a holiday and advised against unnecessary travel.

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According to Pune Metro statistics, PCMC metro station had the highest ridership (26,052), followed by Ramwadi (41,880), Pune railway station (36,701), Vanaz (27,956) and Nal Stop (24,574) from Monday to Wednesday.

Sayali Patil, a metro commuter, said, “I normally take a bus to Pune District Collectorate, but I have been using the metro due to heavy rains and traffic jams since Monday. It has been a good experience with hassle-free traffic and comfortable travel.”

Rohit Gadekar from Vimannagar said, “I am travelling by metro for the first time to go from home to work to Narayanpeth area and it was fun. Normally I use my bike to go to Deccan area but the riverside road is busy due to closed roads. The view of the river from metro was awesome.”

Nandini Gharat, who works in a private office in Deccan, said, “On Thursday afternoon, when the Mula-Mutha river overflowed due to water flowing from the Khadakwasla dam, my colleagues and I used the Metro to travel from Deccan Gymkhana to Kalyaninagar stations to view the flooded river.”

The Pune Metro runs from PCMC to Civic Court on Line 1 and from Vanaz to Ramwadi on Line 2.

Hemant Sonwane, public relations officer at Maha-Metro, said: “Though the number of students has reduced over the last two-three days due to heavy rains, other people are using the facility to avoid traffic congestion.”