Indian Railways Completes DPR for Pune-Ahilyanagar-Shirdi-Nashik Semi High-Speed Rail Corridor

Pune, 11th July 2025: Central Railway has finalized the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed Pune-Ahilyanagar-Shirdi-Nashik semi high-speed rail corridor. The report, prepared following orders from the Union Railway Minister, will be submitted to the Railway Ministry within a week after a final review to address any documentation errors.

Despite local demands to align the Pune-Nashik rapid transit project along the old route, Central Railway engineers have completed the survey and DPR for the new alignment. The new route will run parallel to the current highway from Pune to Ahilyanagar, while a fresh alignment has been planned from Shirdi to Nashik. The total length of the corridor is approximately 235 kilometers, with Pune to Ahilyanagar covering 125 kilometers and Shirdi to Nashik about 82 kilometers. Officials have indicated that while the new route may increase the travel distance between Pune and Nashik by about 45 minutes, it avoids any significant obstacles.

The need for a new alignment arose due to the presence of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at Khodad, Junnar, a globally significant telescope research project that would have been affected by the previous route. In January, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw directed the preparation of a new DPR to ensure the GMRT project remains undisturbed. The new alignment either passes over or tunnels beneath sensitive areas to avoid disruption.

According to Dr. Amol Kolhe, Member of Parliament, the new route will not affect the GMRT project and will be constructed with minimal disruption to local landowners. The corridor is considered crucial for both industrial development and agricultural transport in the region.

The semi high-speed rail project is estimated to cost around Rs 16,000 crore, with a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour. The project is expected to be completed in three and a half years and will include 24 stations, comprising 13 major and 11 minor stops.

With the DPR now complete and final corrections underway, the project moves one step closer to transforming connectivity between Pune, Ahilyanagar, Shirdi, and Nashik.