The Pune–Miraj–Londa line is a railway line connecting Pune in Maharashtra and Londa in Karnataka. It traverses the Western ghats and covers a distance of across Maharashtra and Karnataka. Of the total 468 km distance of this line, 280 km stretch falls under the jurisdiction of Central Railways and the remaining 188 km section under South Western Railway. Despite heavy rail traffic, this line continues to be a single-track non-electrified railway line. Miraj Junction is one of the oldest Junction classified as 'A1' Category of Stations will be renovated by Central Government by 2022. Due to Broad Gauge completion between Miraj-Kurduwadi-Parli-Purna, a better connectivity has been developed between Marathwada and Western Maharashtra. Karad - Chiplun Railway line Survey has been completed by Central Railway team to connect to Jaigad Port as part of Central Government's Sagarmala Project and expected to start work soon to get connectivity to Konkan Railway with Central Railway. Currently, passengers from Satara, Karad, Miraj, and Kolhapur are solely dependent on MSRTC as there is no direct train to visit Konkan region for festivals and vacations. In May 2016, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave approval for doubling of Pune-Miraj-Londa railway line project at an estimated cost of Rs.3,627.47 crore and expected completion cost of Rs.4,246.84 crore with 5% escalation per annum. Centre Government has also approved Electrification of Pune - Kolhapur line and work has already started between Kolhapur towards Miraj.
Major Stations
Major cities in Western Maharashtra such as Pune, Satara, Karad and Sangli lie directly on the Pune–Miraj–Londa line while Kolhapur is connected by a branch line at Miraj. In Karnataka, Belgaum is the major city connected by this line.
Trains
Several important trains such as Udaipur City - Mysuru Palace Queen Humsafar Express, Sri Ganganagar – Tiruchirappalli Humsafar Express Goa Express Vasco -da-gama - H.Nizamuddin, slip Hubli - H.Nizamuddin, Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express, Sharavati Express, Mahalaxmi Express, Koyna Express KSR Bengaluru - Kolhapur Rani Chennamma Express, Mumbai - Hubballi Express and Daily trains from Yeshwantpur towards Gandhidham, Ajmer, Jodhpur travel on this route. Passengers from Kolhapur, Satara, and Miraj are highly demanding for starting of DEMU between Kolhapur to Pune, Satara to Pune to have quick connectivity to Pune as it would be very much beneficial for job holders doing jobs in Pune, and staying in Satara, Karad and on route places. There is very long demand from passengers from Karad, Satara, Miraj, Kolhapur to have direct train to Chennai City.
Lonand-Baramati proposed line
As of 2016, trains traveling on this line from Kolhapur towards Manmad have to take a longer route of Kolhapur-Pune, Pune-Daund and Daund-Manmad which also involves reversing train direction twice. In order to reduce load on Pune railway station and for the trains traveling directly from Kolhapur to Daund, Indian Railways has proposed a shorter route of 53 km between Lonand and Baramati via Phaltan. Since Baramati railway station is already linked with Daund station, Lonand-Baramati line would shorten travel distance by 73 km. Of the 53 km stretch, work on 29 km stretch between Lonand and Phaltan has already been completed. However, the Railways is unable to complete work on the remaining stretch of 24 km because of stiff local opposition but common passengers are highly demanding this route.
