Eknath Shinde spoke about the fast-moving metro extension in Maharashtra.

On Sunday, Eknath Shinde, newly appointed Minister of Urban Development, said that the government is expected to intensify its work to extend the Pune’s metro network.

Shinde, who flagged off the second tunnel-boring machine (TBM) on Sunday for the city’s underground Metro stretch, also said Metro rail projects will be launched after Pune and Nagpur in cities like Nashik and Thane. “The government is working on expanding Pune’s Metro rail networks. There will be a report on it and the work on the extension will be intensified,” Shinde said.

Shinde also urged Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MahaMetro) officials, who are developing two rail projects corridors in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad – to complete the project on time so as to reduce the pressure on the town-style road network. He said there will be a respite for those suffering from the traffic congestion caused by a large number of private vehicles.

“States with good transport infrastructure are evolving more rapidly. For five decades, the government will prepare traffic throughout the State. The main agenda will be to encourage and improve public transport,” he said.

Officials from MahaMetro said that on December the second TBM had been brought up into the city. The machine was pressed into service on Sunday after testing and inspecting. A parallel tunnel between the College of Agriculture and the Civil Court has also been excavated by another tool. The machines built by the Hong Kong-based company for the Pune Metro project are of the “Earth Pressure Balance” type and dig up to 10 meters a day.

Work on the other, elevated parts of the two corridors is in complete motion. Testing on the Sant Tukaramnagar-Phugewadi section has already begun.