Pune Junction railway station (station code: PUNE) is the main railway junction of the city of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, India. It is one of the major railway junctions in Maharashtra. Pune Junction consists of 6 platforms. It also has a suburban train network. It has two accesses, from HH Aga Khan Road on the south and Raja Bahadur Mills Road from the north. It is controlled and regulated by the Pune Police and Central Reserve Police Force.

History

The first passenger train in India ran on 16 April 1853 on the track laid by the

Great Indian Peninsula Railway The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...

from

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST (suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The terminus was d ...

in Mumbai to . The GIPR line was extended to in 1854, then on the south-east side to via Palasdari railway station at the foot of the Western Ghats in 1856. While construction work was in progress across the

Bhor Ghat Bhor Ghat is a mountain pass located between and for railway and between Khopoli and Khandala on the road route in Maharashtra, India, on the crest of the Western Ghats. History In February 1781, Bhorghat was the site of a battle between ...

, GIPR opened the – track to the public in 1858. The Pune railway station opened in 1858. The Bhor Ghat incline connecting Palasdari to Khandala was completed in 1862, thereby connecting Mumbai and Pune. The present Pune railway station building was built in 1925. The Pune–Raichur sector of the Mumbai–Chennai line was opened in stages: the portion from Pune to Barshi Road was opened in 1859, from Barshi Road to Mohol in 1860 and from Mohol to Solapur also in 1860. Work on the line from Solapur southwards began in 1865, and the line was extended to Raichur in 1871. The

Southern Mahratta Railway Southern Mahratta Railway (SMR) was a railway company in British India founded in 1882. History Captain C. C. Johnson, officiating as constructing engineer of railways in 1858, forwarded the proposal for a railway to be constructed and called ...

(SMR) completed the

metre-gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

Vasco–Guntakal railway line along with the branch from Londa to Pune via Miraj in 1890. The Pune–Londa main section was converted from metre-gauge to

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union ( C ...

in 1971.

Electrification

Railway electrification in India began with the first electric train, between Bombay Victoria Terminus and

Kurla Kurla (Pronunciation: uɾlaː is a neighbourhood of East Mumbai, India. It is the headquarters of the Kurla taluka of Mumbai Suburban district. The neighbourhood is named after the eponymous East Indian village that it grew out of. It falls ...

, by the GIPR on 3 February 1925, on 1.5 kV DC. The Kalyan–Pune section was electrified with a 1.5 kV DC overhead system in 1930. The previously used 1.5 kV DC was converted to 25 kV AC on 5 May 2013 from Kalyan to Khopoli and Kalyan to Kasara. Conversion from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Thane–Kalyan section was completed on 12 January 2014."Soon, faster trains on Kalyan-LTT route"
''The Times of India'' (13 January 2014). Retrieved on 2014-06-11. The CSMT to LTT section was converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on 8 June 2015."Central Railway plans DC/AC switch in May"
''The Times of India'' (25 March 2014). Retrieved on 2014-06-11. The Kasara–Pune section was also converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC in 2010. The Pune–Daund–Bhigwan section was electrified in 2017. The Pune–Miraj section is being electrified as of 2020.

Infrastructure

This station has three footbridges with a skywalk. Elevator service is available on the footbridge. Plans are being made to upgrade the station to greater standards. As a protection against the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the co ...

, Central Railway's Railway Protection Force has deployed a robot, 'Captain Arjun', to screen patients and enhance security surveillance at the station. Its electronic eyes are useful for screening passengers during boarding. The robot will help protect passengers and rail staff from infection in addition to performing security maintenance. The robot is equipped with motion sensors, one pan-tilt-zoom camera and a dome camera, which uses artificial intelligence to track suspicious or anti-social mischief makers in the station. Recently, Indian Railways has also launched its first food truck at the Railway station. It is maintained by the Quick Service Restaurant brand Jumboking. In addition to this, there are 14 food stalls which are currently functional at the Pune Railway station as per IRSDC. These are located at different parts of the station and platforms. Other amenities in the station include waiting halls, dormitories, retiring rooms, cloak rooms, book stalls, health kiosks, pay and use toilets, SBI credit card kiosks, ATMs, water vending machines, pay and park and many others for the convenience of passengers. Facility management at the station is facilitated by The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC). As part of its modernisation and beautification of the station, IRSDC is taking various initiatives and measures to upgrade facilities in and around the railway station. Some of these are undertaken in collaboration with leading third-party vendors.

Maldhakka Goods Yard

Maldhakka is the freight depot of the Pune Railway Station and consists of two railway sheds. All freight trains are loaded and unloaded at this depot. The entrance to the goods yard is situated at Maldhakka Chowk.

Power

The station is powered by a

solar power plant A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...

and emergency diesel generators. The 160 kWp solar power plant generates around 2.4 lakh units (

kWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bill ...

) annually. Funded by Persistent CSR, Sunshot built the plant in June 2016. This project was replicated for the

Hyderabad Deccan railway station Hyderabad railway station, popularly known as Hyderabad Deccan railway station or Nampally railway station, (station code: HYB) is located at Nampally, a locality in Hyderabad constructed and earlier run by the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railwa ...

Diesel Loco Shed

There is a diesel locomotive shed located near the

Ghorpuri railway station Ghorpuri railway station is located in Indian city of Pune. It serves Ghorpuri (a suburban area of Pune city). Very few trains currently halt here. It is about 3.5 km from Pune Junction. Currently all passenger trains and some express tra ...

, away from Pune station. It is one of three diesel sheds that belong to Central railway and the largest of the three.

Services

Pune railway station serves as a stop for southbound trains from Mumbai,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

. It also serves as a stop for northbound trains from Goa and

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

. The station is a major hub for freight transportation.

Suburban railway

The Pune Suburban Railway operates on a single route, Pune Junction to

Lonavala Lonavala (ISO: Loṇāvaḷā) is a hill station town and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy ''chikki'' and is a ...

and its part, Shivajinagar to

Talegaon Talegaon is a town on the outskirts of the city of Pune, India. Demographics At the 2001 Census of India, Talegaon Dabhade had a population of 42,574. Males constituted 53% of the population and females 47%. The average literacy rate was 79%, ...

. There are 15 trains that operate on the

–Lonavala route and 3 trains that operate on the Shivajinagar–Talegaon route. There are eight

DEMU A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

trains that operate between the Pune Junction and

Daund Daund is a city, municipal council and headquarters of the Daund tehsil in the Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. In ancient times a sage, 'Dhaumya Rishi' used to stay here, hence people started calling this place after him: 'Dha ...

station. This section is electrified and is planned to be included into suburban rail. The chances of starting DEMU services between Pune and Ahmednagar stations are increased as 24 stations of Daund-Ankai section will be merged with the Pune Rail Division. Currently Daund-Ankai section is under Solapur Rail Division. Merging with Pune Division will increase the chances of starting DEMU services between Ahmednagar and Pune railway station.

Future

There are plans to increase service in the

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

–

section, lay additional track between Pune and

, increase the budget for track surveys and construct separate terminals for suburban trains. There are also proposals to construct a new EMU terminal. It would be situated to the west of the existing station and have three lines and three platforms. The chances of starting demu services between pune and Ahmednagar stations are increased as 24 stations of daund-Ankai section will be merged with pune Railway division. Currently Daund-Ankai section is under solapur railway division. Merging with pune division will incarese the chances of starting demu services between Ahmednagar and pune railway station.

References

External links

{{Railway stations in Maharashtra Railway junction stations in Maharashtra Railway stations in Pune Pune Suburban Railway Railway stations opened in 1858 Pune railway division Indian Railway A1 Category Stations Year of establishment missing Railway stations in India opened in the 1850s