Pune rail division officials have revealed that the works to develop the Hadapsar railway station into a full-fledged terminal will begin in a couple of months. A tender for the first phase of the project has been floated and bidder submissions will be opened in a fortnight. The new terminal will allow Pune Junction to expand its operations by adding more trains to different destinations from the city.

“Hadapsar already has a railway station. The plan is to develop it into a proper terminal. We expect construction to begin by January, and the works to be completed by mid-2019,” a senior official of the division told.

“Phase one of the project involves the extension of the existing platforms to full coach length. Also, an additional platform will be erected at Hadapsar, bringing the total number of platforms at the station to three. Passenger amenities will be created as well. Work on this phase will begin soon. A decision on the second phase will be taken in the near future as it involves more work and land acquisition. We will have to study and calculate the extent of land that needs to be acquired. Currently, we will be focusing on phase one,” the official said.

Another official said that apart from some new trains, most of the north-bound trains from the Pune Junction will be shifted to the Hadapsar terminal.

“The Pune station has become congested. The new terminal will reduce the load on Pune station. Though a final decision on the trains is awaited, the plan is to shift the originating point of all north-bound trains to the new terminal. Also, once the project is ready, trains to new locations can be run from Hadapsar. With the city expanding, one needs a proper rail terminal and Hadapsar is the answer,” the official pointed out.

Passengers, however, are in two minds. “Rail projects take a lot of time. If they are planning to shift the north-bound trains to Hadapsar, other infrastructure like roads leading to the station, proper connectivity to the station etc. need to be considered too,” said Ankur Singh, a Bihar native.

The railway authorities had said that the total cost to develop Hadapsar station as a rail terminal would be about Rs23.94 crore, but since the project got delayed, the cost went up.