The Mumbai Monorail is a monorail system currently under construction for the city of Mumbai, India. The project is being implemented by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA, with La
rsen & Toubro (L&T) and a consortium of Malaysian infrastructure Scomi Engineering. It will be the first monorail in India.[4][5] Construction began in January 2009.[6] The first line is scheduled to be commissioned in April 2013.[7]
==[edit] History==
Vilasrao Deshmukh, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, cleared the notification for construction of the first
monorail system in India on August 13, 2008. The system will traverse through Jacob Circle,Wadala, Mahul and Chembur, paving the way for a feeder service to the existing suburban railway network[8]
The two shortlisted consortia to build the line were Bombardier Transportation, Reliance Energy in association with Hitachi Monorail, and Larsen and Toubro with Scomi Rail of Malaysia. On November 11, 2008, the winner was announced to be Larsen and Toubro along with Scomi, who received a ₹2,460 crore (US$447.72 million) contract to build and operate the monorail until 2029.[9]
Construction of Mumbai Monorail started in January 2009 along the Chembur - Wadala - Jacob Circle route[10] and was scheduled to be completed in April 2011.[11] Due to delays, the first portion of the line, between Chembur and Wadala, is now expected to be operational in January 2013. The second portion, from Jacob Circle to Wadala, is expected to be ready by December 2013.[12]
A 108-meter test run was successfully conducted on January 26, 2010.[13] The monorail had its first test run on 18 February 2012 from its yard in Wadala to a station at Bhakti Park, a distance of around a kilometre. Scomi, the Malaysian company that supplied the rakes for the project, was in charge of the trial. The MMRDA will decide whether the Singapore-based SMRT or the Hong Kong-based Mass Transit Rail will be given the task of certifying the monorail system. This is because the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) had said it didn’t have the capacity to certify the monorail, as it was a different system from the railways. The electrical workings of the monorail will be certified by the Electrical Inspector General.[14]
[edit]Plan
Main article: List of Mumbai monorail stations
The Mumbai Monorail master plan propsed the construction of 8 lines at a cost of ₹20,296 crore (US$3.69 billion).[15]
Phase 1
| Route | Length (km) | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Chembur - Wadala - Jacob Circle/Saat Raasta (Sant Ghadge Maharaj Chowk) | 19.54 | ₹2,716 crore (US$494.31 million) |
| Mulund – Goregaon - Borivali | 30 | ₹4,170 crore (US$758.94 million) |
| Virar - Chikhaldongri | 4.60 | ₹639.9 crore (US$116.46 million) |
| Lokhandwala - SEEPZ - Kanjurmarg | 13.14 | ₹1,826.5 crore (US$332.42 million) |
| Thane - Mira-Bhayandar - Dahisar | 24.25 | ₹3,370.8 crore (US$613.49 million) |
Phase 2
| Route | Length (km) | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Kalyan - Ulhasnagar - Dombivli | 26.40 | ₹3,669.6 crore (US$667.87 million) |
| Chembur - Ghatkopar - Kopar Khairane | 16.72 | ₹3,686.3 crore (US$670.91 million) |
| Mahape - Shil Phata - Kalyan | 21.10 | ₹2,932.9 crore (US$533.79 million) |
| Thane - Bhiwandi - Kalyan[16] | 30 | ₹3,750 crore (US$682.5 million) |
[edit]Second Monorail Project
In September 2011, the MMRDA, said that did not have an immediate plan to start the construction of a second monorail in the region.[17] They clarified that although it did not mean that they are not interested in carrying out
the project, it may not follow the currently planned schedule. The MMRDA decided to put on hold all plans for the expansion of the monorail till the first route was commissioned. An MMRDA official stated, "There is no point in going for new routes. As long as the first route is not commissioned and the results are not out, we would not commission any new routes". MMRDA feels the need for a monorail would arise after all the proposed metro rail routes were commissioned with the monorail serving as a feeder service.[18]
COST
The cost of setting up the monorail service is roughly ₹85 crore (US$15.47 million) per km. The complete network of about 135 km is recommended for development from year 2011 to 2031 in phases at the total cost of ₹20,000 crore.[19]
[edit]Infrastructure
[edit]Rolling stock
The rail cars are to be built in Malaysia by Scomi Engineering Bhd. Scomi Rail owns 42% of the contract to build the 19.5 km monorail line[20]
[edit]Operations
[edit]Fares
The minimum fare on Line 1, will be ₹11 and maximum will be ₹30.[21]
[edit]Noise
According to studies conducted by the Mumbai Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) during the monorail trial run, it was found that the monorail produces between 65 - 85 decibels of noise, significantly lower than the 95 decibel noise level of aBEST Bus.[22]
[edit]Speed
The monorail will have a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph), an average speed of 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph)[5] and the overall speed including dwell time at stations would be around 31 kilometres per hour (19 mph).[19]
[edit]Capacity and frequency
The capacity of the monorail will be more than 500 with a four coach consist, and more than 700 with six coaches. The ratio of sitting to standing passengers is expected to be 4:1.