Pune's Next Big Metro Move: Katraj to Dehu Road

Pune's metro map is on the verge of another big expansion. Maha Metro has prepared to start work on a set of metro extensions after elected representatives submitted several proposals to the City Improvement Committee (CIC) of the Pune Municipal Corporation, seeking to widen the network across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. The submissions are part of a broader push to decongest the city's fast-growing western and southern suburbs, and they're likely to reshape how homebuyers think about connectivity in these micro-markets.

The headline proposal is a corridor connecting Katraj to Dehu Road. Among the key suggestions is a Metro line connecting Katraj to Dehu Road, passing through several growing residential and commercial areas along the Katraj–Dehu Road Bypass, including Wadgaon, Warje, Bavdhan, Sus, Baner-Balewadi, Wakad and Punawale. This is a corridor that has seen explosive residential growth over the last decade, driven largely by its proximity to the Hinjewadi IT Park and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Importantly, this isn't simply a duplicate of an existing line. Although certain parts of this corridor are already covered by existing plans, such as the Hinjewadi–Shivajinagar line near Balewadi, a direct extension to Dehu Road has not been planned before. That makes it a genuinely new north-south link along the western bypass, complementing rather than replacing the ongoing Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Line 3 project.

Interestingly, this proposal echoes a separate civic initiative that's already in motion. In March 2026, the Pune Municipal Corporation initiated steps toward exploring a new metro corridor connecting Wakad, Katraj and Shewalewadi, writing to MahaMetro seeking a preliminary assessment to determine whether the route can be included in Pune's Comprehensive Mobility Plan. Together, these two proposals point to the same underlying reality: the Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass has become one of Pune's most congested and most sought-after residential belts, and the city is actively looking for a rail-based fix.

Corporators pushing the plan have been vocal about the need. Corporators said expanding metro services has become increasingly important as road traffic continues to rise across the city and that a stronger metro network can reduce travel time and offer a dependable public transport option for daily commuters. This round of proposals wasn't limited to the western corridor either — corporators representing Yerawada and Vishrantwadi have proposed extensions in the eastern suburbs, including a route from Yerawada to Ambedkar Chowk and further along Vishrantwadi and Alandi Road, along with a link towards Lohegaon airport to address congestion. A separate suggestion also called for extending the Vanaz-Chandni Chowk line, since rapid development beyond Chandni Chowk has raised concerns that terminating the line there may not be sufficient in the long term.

For homebuyers tracking the western corridor, context matters. The existing Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Line 3 — which already threads through Wakad, Baner and Balewadi — is itself still a work in progress. As of mid-2026, Line 3 is strictly under construction, undergoing phased testing, with the initial stretch targeted for operational launch around mid-to-late 2026, subject to final statutory safety certifications. A Katraj-Dehu Road line would arrive well after that, but its mere proposal adds another layer of long-term transit-oriented value to localities like Bavdhan, Sus, Wakad and Punawale.

It's worth being realistic about the timeline. This is still an early-stage proposal, not a sanctioned project. If the preliminary assessment yields positive results, the next stage will involve site inspections, traffic counts, technical surveys and preparation of a detailed alignment plan, eventually leading to a full Detailed Project Report for the corridor. That process typically takes years before ground-breaking, so buyers should treat this as a medium-to-long-term infrastructure tailwind rather than an immediate trigger.

Even so, national developers are already positioning for Pune's western growth belt. Smart World, known for its Gurugram projects, has signalled Pune as one of its target expansion markets alongside Mumbai and Bengaluru — a reflection of how corridors like Wakad-Baner-Balewadi-Punawale are increasingly on the radar of pan-India developers, not just local builders. As the Katraj-Dehu Road proposal moves through Pune's civic process, homebuyers evaluating property in this belt would do well to track both the metro planning stage and the parallel growth of end-use demand along the Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass.