After PM’s public transport push, call for Nagpur Metro’s longer hours grows

Nagpur: The operating hours of Nagpur Metro have come under renewed focus after PM Narendra Modi's appeal for greater use of public transport, reviving a long-pending local demand to extend services beyond the current 6am to 10pm schedule.Commuters, including industrial workers, night-shift employees, office-goers and late-evening passengers, have for years sought longer Metro hours as ridership rises and dependence on public transport grows. Alongside timing constraints, many say poor last-mile connectivity remains a major obstacle to wider Metro use.Nagpur Metro's 2013 detailed project report had originally proposed 19 hours of daily operations, from 5am to midnight, with no services between midnight and 5am to allow maintenance of infrastructure and rolling stock.Industrial bodies say the present schedule does not meet the needs of thousands of workers in the Hingna and Butibori industrial belts, where late-night transport options are limited and costly.MIDC Industries Association president P Mohan said extending Metro timings even by an hour would be helpful, but stressed that feeder connectivity is equally important. He said dedicated buses or shuttle services are needed to connect Metro stations with factories in Hingna MIDC.Senior functionary of Butibori MIDC Association, Ruchir Kumar Gupta, said longer operating hours till midnight or 12.30am would support employees working across multiple shifts. He noted that many industries run three shifts, with the last day shift ending around 11pm and the midnight shift beginning soon after, making extended Metro services useful for both outgoing and incoming workers.The demand comes as Nagpur Metro records growing public acceptance, with average daily ridership reaching around one lakh, driven by commuters seeking economical and safer transport options.Against this backdrop, MahaMetro has now initiated a scientific study to assess commuter demand patterns and feasibility of extending services on specific stretches for both Nagpur and Pune metro. Speaking to TOI, MahaMetro managing director Shravan Hardikar confirmed that a scientific study and feeder connectivity assessment are currently underway. "Right now, we have started work on developing feeder connectivity. We are conducting an Origin-Destination study. Once we get the results and understand how, where and why people are travelling, we will be able to make decisions strategically and scientifically," Hardikar said.According to Hardikar, the study is currently in the data collection phase and is expected to generate concrete figures within one to one-and-a-half months, after which MahaMetro will take a call on Metro timings, frequency and feeder systems on different corridors.