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MMRDA
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operational | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini |
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| Stations | 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Straddle-beam monorail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depot(s) | Wadala Depot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | Scomi (6) Medha Servo (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily ridership | 19,000 (April 2017)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ridership | 13,072 (2014 weekdays) 16,699 (2014 weekends)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 2 February 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 19.54 km (12.14 mi)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Character | Elevated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | Straddle-beam monorail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | 750 V DC Third rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating speed | 32 km/h (20 mph) (average) 80 km/h (50 mph) (top) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The MMRDA Mumbai Monorail is a monorail line in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, built as part of a major expansion of public transport in the city. The project is operated by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
The monorail runs from Chembur in the city's eastern suburbs to Sant Ghadge Maharaj Chowk at Mahalaxmi in south Mumbai, effectively connecting the city's harbour line, central line and western line.[4]
The monorail, as its name suggests, runs on a narrow, single track. A lightweight structure allows the trains to navigate sharp turns in congested urban areas.[5] The Mumbai monorail is the first in India since the Kundala Valley Railways and the Patiala State Monorail Trainways were closed in the 1920s.
The system began commercial operation in 2014, but has achieved only 10% of the estimated ridership. Over budget, with an "unnecessary" route poorly connected to other modes of transport and suffering from poor maintenance, the system has widely been described as a "failure".[6]
History
Background
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) first proposed a monorail in 2005.[7]
On 11 November 2008, Larsen and Toubro partnered with the Malaysian company Scomi Engineering Bhd, and the joint venture (JV) company was awarded a ₹24.6 billion (US$290 million) contract by the MMRDA to build, operate, and maintain the project of around eight monorail routes in Mumbai by the year 2029.[8] The construction of the first monorail line in Mumbai mostly began from 2014, which would connect Jacob Circle, Wadala and Mahul via Chembur, providing a feeder service to the existing Mumbai Suburban Railway.[9] However, nothing concrete came out of the notification for many years.
In mid-2018, a dispute arose between the MMRDA and the Malaysian company LTSE, with both parties attempting to end the contract with each other. LTSE, which was reportedly defaulting on the contract on multiple counts, wrote to the MMRDA stating that its responsibilities were over, while the MMRDA was trying to end the contract with the Malaysian operator.[10]
The contract with LTSE was finally ended in December 2018.[11] The MMRDA has now taken over the operations of the monorail and, according to the MMRDA, the bus service operating in the city plied crowded and narrow areas at very slow speeds, thus offering no benefits to the commuters and adding to the traffic congestion. The MMRDA stated that the monorail would connect many parts of the city which were not connected by suburban rail system or the proposed metro rail system. The agency also stated that the monorail would be an efficient feeder transit to the metro and suburban rail systems offering efficient, safe, air-conditioned, comfortable and affordable public transport to commuters.[12]
The cost of the monorail service was estimated in 2010 to be ₹2.0 billion (roughly ₹850 million (US$10 million) per km). Approximately 135 kilometres (84 mi) of line is planned to be built in phases between 2011 and 2031.[13] The monorail service along with the metro lines have been reported to have incurred losses.[14]
Construction
Then Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan laid the foundation stone in a ceremony at the Acres Club, Chembur on 9 February 2009.[15] The MMRDA commissioned the construction of the line in two phases. The first stretch linked Wadala on the outskirts of the island city with Chembur in the north-east, and the second connected Wadala with Jacob Circle in South Mumbai.[16] The original deadline for the project was April 2011.[17] The project was delayed by issues involving land, removal of encroachments, delays in getting permissions from the civic body and railways,[18] and missed several deadlines for completion. The following months had all been announced as deadlines for the first phase - December 2010, May 2011, November 2011, May 2012, December 2012, June 2013, August 2013, 15 September 2013,[19] October 2013 and December 2013. Deadlines announced for the second phase were May 2011, December 2011, May 2012, December 2012, December 2013, June 2014, December 2014 and March 2015.[20] A Right to Information (RTI) request filed by RTI activist Anil Galgali revealed that the three-year delay in commissioning the monorail was primarily due to change of alignment of its route, which led to further cost escalation of the project.[21]
A 108-meter test run was successfully conducted on 26 January 2010.[22] A one-kilometer test run from Wadala to the Bhakti Park monorail station was undertaken on 18 February 2012.[23] The first test run of the entire route was conducted by the MMRDA in November 2012.[17]
In late December 2013, the MMRDA announced that it had submitted an application to Safety Certification Authority (Engineer) for the Chembur-Wadala stretch. The Safety Certification Authority goes through the documents, and physically inspects the corridor, and commercial operations can commence only after receiving its approval.[24] The electrical systems were certified by the Electrical Inspector General.[23] The contractor, the consortium of L&T and Scomi Engineering, had safety checks performed by an independent inspector. Official safety checks were performed by SMRT Corp of Singapore and R.C. Garg, retired Commissioner of Railway Safety.[25] The final safety certificate was issued on 20 January.[26][27] The safety certificate was then forwarded to the State Government, which issued a notification for commissioning the system. The notification contains norms for operation and maintenance of the system, which requires approval from the Chief Minister.[28]
Opening
Line 1 was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on 1 February 2014 at the Wadala Depot monorail station. After flagging off the first monorail train at 3:47 p.m., Chavan along with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and other officials rode the entire route, arriving at Chembur monorail station, 20 minutes later.[29][30][31][32] The party then proceeded to Gandhi Maidan, 15th Road, Chembur (East), where the Chavan declared the monorail "open".[33] The monorail was opened to the public the following day,[34] with the first trip commencing from Wadala Depot at 7:08 a.m.[35] According to the MMRDA, it had very few passengers, as the gates were opened to the public only at 7:10 am, when the train had already left.[36] The first train from the opposite side, departed Chembur at 7:10 am[37] Services had been scheduled to operate until 3:00 p.m., however, station doors were closed by 2:30 p.m. due to larger than expected ridership. Services were operated until 4:30 p.m., in order to provide a ride to everyone who had purchased a ticket.[38] On opening day, 19,678 passengers travelled on the line. Sixty-six services were operated on the first day,[39] netting a revenue of ₹2.2 lakh (US$2,600) through the sale of tickets and smart cards.[35][40][41]
In the first week of operations (2–8 February 2014), the monorail transported 1,36,865 passengers in about 512 trips, earning a total revenue of ₹1,424,810. A total of 132,523 tokens and 1409 smart cards were also sold during the first week.[42][43][44] According to the MMRDA, between 2 February and 1 March, a total of 458,871 commuters used the monorail, generating a total revenue ₹4,466,522.[45] The monorail was closed for the first time on 17 March 2014 due to Holi.[46]
Years of delays later, Phase 2 was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 3 March 2019.[47]
| Line 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extension date | Termini | Length | Stations | |
| 2 February 2014 | Chembur | Wadala Depot | 8.93 kilometers (5.55 mi)[48][49] | 7 |
| 3 March 2019[50] | Wadala Depot | Jacob Circle | 11.28 kilometers (7.01 mi) | 10 |
| Total | Chembur | Jacob Circle | 19.52 kilometers (12.13 mi)[51] | 17 |
Plan
The Mumbai Monorail master plan proposed the construction of 8 lines at a cost of ₹202.96 billion (US$2.4 billion).[52]
| Phase | Line | Corridor | Length (km) | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase I | 1 | Chembur–Wadala Depot–Jacob Circle | 19.54 | ₹27.16 billion (US$330 million) |
| 2 | Mulund–Goregaon–Borivali | 30 | ₹41.7 billion (US$500 million) | |
| 4 | Lokhandwala–SEEPZ–Kanjurmarg | 13.14 | ₹18,265 million (US$220 million) | |
| 5 | Thane – Mira-Bhayandar – Dahisar | 24.25 | ₹33,708 million (US$400 million) | |
| Phase II | 6 | Kalyan–Ulhasnagar–Dombivli | 26.40 | ₹36,696 million (US$440 million) |
| 7 | Chembur–Ghatkopar–Kopar Khairane | 16.72 | ₹36,863 million (US$440 million) | |
| 8 | Mahape–Shil Phata–Kalyan | 21.10 | ₹29,329 million (US$350 million) |
In September 2011, the MMRDA said that did not have an immediate plan to begin construction of a second monorail line in the region.[53] 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. 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."[54]
In 2009, the MMRDA proposed the construction of an additional line on the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan route. The route was proposed to have a station at every kilometer, cost ₹3,750 crore (equivalent to ₹94 billion or US$1.1 billion in 2023) and be implemented on public-private partnership basis. It was further proposed to extend the corridor from Kalyan to Badlapur in the next phase.[55] This project was shelved by the MMRDA in February 2014. The proposed corridor would have been 23.75 km long, and cost approximately ₹3,169 crore.[56]
Further development of the monorail system is on hold, and questions have been raised as to whether the proposed monorail corridors will have sufficient capacity to meet Mumbai's requirements.[57] The monorail may not be further extended by the MMRDA, as it may prove inadequate for Mumbai's population density. Foreign consultants have suggested a Metro or LRT system over a monorail for many Indian cities, e.g. Bangalore.[58][59][60]
Line 1
The only operational line of the Mumbai Monorail, Line 1 connects Jacob Circle in South Mumbai with Chembur in eastern Mumbai.[61] It was built at a cost of approximately ₹3,000 crore (US$360 million). The 20.21 km line is fully elevated. Line 1 is owned and operated by the MMRDA.[62] The monorail supplements service of the Mumbai Suburban Railway in some heavily populated areas.[63] The first phase, built at a cost of ₹1,100 crore (US$130 million),[50] consists of 7 stations from Chembur to Wadala Depot, and was opened to the public on 2 February 2014. An extension for Line 1 consisting of 11 stations from Wadala Depot to Jacob Circle was built at a cost of ₹1,900 crore (US$230 million).[29] It suffered through delays due to shortage of functional monorail rakes.[64] Phase 2 finally opened on 3 March 2019.[65]