When Pune Stopped, the Metro Rolled—5.45 Lakh Riders in Two Days

If you were in Pune over the weekend, you probably noticed the city felt a little different. With major roads closed for the annual Wari procession, thousands of people ditched their cars and bikes and hopped on the Metro instead. The result? Pune Metro smashed its own ridership records, carrying over 5.45 lakh passengers in just two days.

 

Here’s what happened:

 

On Friday alone, more than 3.19 lakh people took the Metro. That’s the highest single-day number the service has ever seen. Both Metro lines were packed, with Line 1 (PCMC to Swargate) and Line 2 (Vanaz to Ramwadi) seeing huge crowds.

 

Saturday kept up the momentum, with another 2.26 lakh riders. Usually, the Metro sees about 1.5 to 1.6 lakh passengers a day, so this was almost double the norm.

 

The spike was all thanks to the Wari processions, which meant big parts of central Pune and key routes to Pimpri-Chinchwad were off-limits to private vehicles. With so many roads closed, the Metro became the easiest way to get around.

 

Many Warkaris—pilgrims walking in the procession—also used the Metro to visit relatives or move between different parts of the city. Some were first-time riders and said it made their journey much less stressful.

 

Metro officials pointed out that the newly opened Civil Court to Swargate stretch helped handle the rush, especially since a lot of the action was centered in that area.

 

For context, last year’s Wari saw a record 1.99 lakh Metro riders in a day. This year, the numbers blew right past that milestone.

 

All in all, the weekend showed just how useful the Metro can be when Pune’s roads are jammed or closed. With more expansions planned, it might soon become the city’s go-to way to beat the traffic—whether there’s a festival or not.

 

Source: Hindustan Times