Pimpri-Chinchwad Set to Pioneer Maharashtra's Electric Transit Revolution
Maharashtra is launching an ambitious electric transit pilot in Pimpri-Chinchwad with Swiss firm HESS-AG to combat traffic and pollution. The project aims to integrate seamlessly with existing transport systems and promises cleaner air and smoother commutes. If successful, it could expand to eight cities, revolutionizing urban mobility across the state.
Mrudula Narale
Pune, April 16, 2025 – In a quiet office in Pimpri-Chinchwad, a group of urban planners pore over blueprints that could transform how millions of Maharashtrians commute. The state government is preparing to launch an ambitious pilot project that might just solve two of urban India’s most persistent headaches – traffic congestion and pollution – through an innovative electric transit system.
Enter HESS-AG, the Swiss mobility firm tasked with conducting Maharashtra’s most ambitious transport experiment since the Metro. Their mission: to test whether electric transit can weave seamlessly into the city’s existing transport tapestry of metros and BRT corridors. The proposed High-Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR) promises not just cleaner air, but something commuters crave even more – predictable travel times.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis frames this as more than just another infrastructure project. “We’re not just building roads or rails,” he explains. “We’re building a new relationship between our cities and how people move through them.” His vision extends beyond Pimpri-Chinchwad – if successful, Nagpur, Sambhajinagar and six other cities could see similar systems within three years.
As the sun sets over the Mula River, the city’s transport future hangs in the balance. Will this Swiss-inspired solution prove adaptable to Indian conditions? Can it deliver on its twin promises of efficiency and sustainability? The answers will determine not just Pimpri-Chinchwad’s mobility landscape, but potentially that of urban Maharashtra. For now, all eyes remain on the coming months as the pilot takes its first tentative steps toward reality.
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