Keolis wins contract to operate a metro line in Pune, India

PITCMRL, a Tata-Siemens consortium* has awarded a 10-year contract to operate line 3 of the Pune metro to Keolis. Currently under construction, this 23 km line will have 23 stations. Working with PITCMRL in India offers Keolis a unique opportunity to extend its expertise in a fast-growing market. Keolis is thus expanding its international footprint while contributing to the development of transport solutions tailored to local needs. PITCMRL is the concessionaire for a PPP based metro project for a period of 35 years. Keolis has vast international experience in PPP based transit projects.

Pune is located south-west of Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra. It is home to 8 million inhabitants and is nicknamed “Oxford of the east”. The new Metro-Rail line will be the third in the city, the first two being built and operated by a government body. The new line will drastically reduce travel time between the Central business district of Shivajinagar & IT hub in Hinjewadi which employs more than 1,50,000 people. This corridor is also witnessing large scale residential developments leading to congestion on roads & connectivity bottlenecks. Line 3 is expected to ease travel difficulty for ordinary citizens while boosting economic activities along the alignment. Keolis shall mobilise and prepare to operate the line as per agreed timelines. The Group will then maintain the 22 trains (supplied by Alstom), and the 23 stations, and the ticketing system for ten years.

A particularly unprecedented initiative in India, the trains on line 3 will be driven exclusively by women. A total of about 100 female Train Pilots are being planned to be recruited and trained and will receive ongoing support to ensure their successful and lasting integration.

Needless to mention, special attention would be paid to their safety and well-being during their journeys to and from work.

Keolis has been present in India since 2012 where it provides O&M Services to L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad, a subsidiary of Larsen and Toubro (L&T). Keolis began commercial operations of the Hyderabad metro in 2017 (It is now the third busiest network in the country, carrying around 500,000 passengers a day). The Group contributes to the continuous improvement of passenger service in terms of comfort, passenger information, safety and cleanliness, as well as the management of major events such as the highly popular cricket matches.

With this new line in Pune, Keolis is reinforcing its presence in India and its international footprint.

The Group currently operates or is preparing to launch nine metro networks in 6 countries, representing almost 452 km of track worldwide. Keolis is the world's leading operator of automatic (driverless) metros, with 330 km of lines in operation or under construction.

France :

• In Lille, with line 1, the first automatic line in Europe (1983) and line 2 (1989).

• In Lyon, until the end of 2024, with automatic lines B (automated in 2022) and D (1991), and lines A and C opened in 1978 and 1974 respectively.

• In Rennes, with line A (2002) and line B (2022).

• In Paris, with lines 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express, which will start operating in 2026, as well as line 18.

Internationally:

• In the United Kingdom, since 2014, in London, with the Docklands Light Railway.

• In India, in Hyderabad, with a network of three lines (red, blue and green), launched in 2017.

• In China, since 2018 in Shanghai, line 8.3 in the Pujiang district, then in 2019 at Pudong airport with the circular automatic metro line connecting the four terminals.

• In Qatar, in Doha, with a network of three lines (gold, green and red lines), launched in 2019.

• In the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, with the two lines of the world's longest automatic metro network (red and green lines), since 2021.

• In Côte d'Ivoire, in Abidjan, where the network is due to be launched by 2028.