City number seven. Same rules: GHSL 2025 population (6.9 million people in a 32 × 31 km box covering Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad), 9 food hotspots, 6 independent growths of 50,000 agents, and we count the people living within 800 m of a line. The real network is every Pune Metro line open to passengers on 25 Oct 2026: the Purple Line (PCMC to Swargate) and the Aqua Line (Vanaz to Ramwadi), meeting at Civil Court. That's about 33 km officially and 28 stations in Wikidata (status table, 13 Oct 2026). The 23 km Hinjewadi–Shivajinagar Line 3 is not counted: it is largely built and 17 of its 23 stations have provisional safety clearance, but it still has no opening date after the Prime Minister's 3 Nov visit was deferred (Hindustan Times, 24 Oct 2026). Pick the Pune tab in the live sim above.
| Measure | Slime mold | Pune Metro |
|---|---|---|
| Network length | 67 km | 29 km (straight lines) |
| People within 800 m of a line | 1.86 million (27%) | 1.12 million (16%) |
| People within 800 m, per km of line | 28,000 | 38,800 |
| Same length: people within 800 m | 1.16 million (30 km) | 1.12 million (29 km) |
| People within 1.5 km of a line | 3.26 million (67 km) | 1.97 million (29 km) |
| Share of its network within 1 km of the other's | 7% | 22% |
Pune's metro is the shortest in the league: two lines that cross in the old city. Left alone, the slime builds more than twice as much (67 km), so per km it scores lower, which is normal. The fair test is to trim it to the metro's length. At 30 km it reaches 1.16 million residents against the metro's 1.12 million, 4% more. Per km that's 39,100 against 38,800, under 1% apart, so call it a near-draw with the slime just ahead, the league's second slime win after Hyderabad. The trims on either side don't settle it: the next shorter one (19 km) reaches 0.98 million, and the next longer one (32 km, about 10% longer than the metro) reaches 1.38 million. The two networks barely agree on where to go. Only 7% of the slime runs within 1 km of the metro, the lowest overlap in the league. The metro runs north–south through PCMC and east–west through Kothrud and the old city. The slime runs a spine from Nigdi down through Rahatani to the centre and then out to Kondhwa, plus an eastern line through Kharadi and Hadapsar, the crowds no open line reaches yet. Caveats: the 30 km trim is two pieces (the bigger one, 20 km, reaches 0.93 million); residents only, so Hinjewadi's and Kharadi's IT parks count for nothing (that cuts both ways, since the metro doesn't reach Hinjewadi yet either); and lines are straight links, 29 km against about 33 km officially.
The biggest crowds more than 2 km from any open metro line, checked against the news. Two have a line under construction, one has a line built but not open, and the biggest has none of its own.
| Hotspot (approx. centre) | People within 3 km | To nearest open line | Reality check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kondhwa / Wanowrie | 826,000 | 4.3 km | No line of its own The nearest project is the 5.46 km underground Swargate–Katraj extension along Satara Road, about 3 km west (Market Yard, Bibwewadi, Padmavati, Balajinagar, Katraj). Shafts are being dug, tunnel boring machines are due in November, and services are targeted for Dec 2029–2030 (Hindustan Times, Pune Mirror). This is the second-biggest crowd in our Pune box. The slime gives it a 9 km tube from Swargate. |
| Hadapsar / Magarpatta | 553,000 | 4.0 km | Approved, not built Line 4 (Kharadi–Hadapsar–Swargate–Khadakwasla) was approved by the Union Cabinet in Nov 2025, with five years to build (PMO). The first civil tender covers only the western end (Dandekar Pul to Khadakwasla), and bids close in Dec 2026 (Maha Metro tenders). |
| Rahatani / Thergaon / Pimple Saudagar | 277,000 | 2.8 km | Plan only The 45–47 km Bhakti Shakti–Wakad–Nashik Phata–Chakan line (Pimple Saudagar station) has a revised project report, but the PCMC has heard it four times without deciding, and it still needs state and central approval (Construction World, Free Press Journal). |
| Akurdi / Nigdi | 253,000 | 4.3 km | Being built The 4.4 km PCMC–Nigdi (Bhakti Shakti) extension, with stations at Chinchwad, Akurdi, Nigdi and Bhakti Shakti, had about 75% of its viaduct up and track-laying under way in Aug 2026. Maha Metro says 2027; one report says service may slip to Jan 2028 (Times of India, Pune Prime News). |
| Baner / Aundh | 249,000 | 4.2 km | Built, not open Line 3 (Hinjewadi–Shivajinagar) runs through Baner and Aundh. It is largely built, but it is waiting for its last safety clearances and an inauguration date (Times of India). Once it opens, this gap closes. |
| Bhosari | 172,000 | 3.7 km | Plan only The same Chakan project report was re-routed through Bhosari MIDC and Bhosari Gaon, and it is awaiting approval (Free Press Journal). |
The biggest crowd of all, about 962,000 people around Mandai and the old city peths, is already on the Purple Line (0.6 km away). Further out, about 75,000 people around Wagholi wait on Line 2B (Ramwadi–Wagholi), approved in June 2025 with a four-year target (status table).
Pune caveats. Station data is a Wikidata snapshot taken on 25 Oct 2026 (only stations marked "in use"; Line 3 stations are ignored), checked against the news. Range Hill, between Khadki and Shivaji Nagar, has no Wikidata entry, so we join those two stations directly (trains run through either way). Lines are drawn as straight links, so we measure 29 km against the official ~33 km, and a shorter measured metro reaches fewer people. We count residents only, so Hinjewadi, Kharadi and Magarpatta's offices count for nothing. The Mula-Mutha river isn't a wall. The box stops short of Hinjewadi Phase 3, Chakan and Talegaon. With only 9 hotspots the slime is sparse, and the 30 km trim is in two pieces. Pune is also the only city in the league with a major line that is built but not open, so this result will go out of date when Line 3 opens.
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