Mumbai Monorail

Mumbai Monorail
Background
Owner	Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
Locale	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Transit type	Straddle-beam monorail
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	18
Daily ridership	125,000 (estimate)
Headquarters	Mumbai
Operation
Began operation	2 February 2014
Number of vehicles	6
Train length	4 coaches
Headway	15 minutes
Technical
System length	19.54 km (12.14 mi)[1]
Electrification	750 V DC
Average speed	32 km/h (20 mph)[2]
Top speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
System map Chembur     VNP and RC Marg Fertiliser Township Bharat Petroleum Mysore Colony Bhakti Park Wadala Depot Map Legend Transfer to local trains Transfer to long-distance trains

The Mumbai Monorail is a monorail system in the city of Mumbai, India, part of a major expansion of public transport in the city. The project was implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), along with a consortium of Mumbai-based conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and the Malaysian infrastructure firm Scomi Engineering. It is the first monorail in India since the Kundala Valley Railway and Patiala State Monorail Trainways were closed in the 1920s, before the independence of India.^[3][4] Construction began in January 2009 and the first operational line, between Wadala and Chembur, was inaugurated on 1 February 2014.^[5][6]

History

A station under construction in Chembur

On 18 August 2008 Vilasrao Deshmukh, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, approved the construction of a monorail system in Mumbai. Then it was decided that the system would traverse through Jacob Circle, Wadala, Mahul and Chembur, providing a feeder service to the existing Mumbai Suburban Railway.^[7]

The two shortlisted consortia to build the line were Bombardier Transportation/Reliance Energy/Hitachi Monorail, and Larsen and Toubro/Scomi Rail. On 11 November 2008, the winner was announced to be Larsen and Toubro along with Malaysian partner Scomi, who received a 24.6 billion (US$390 million) contract to build and operate the monorail until 2029.^[8]

Construction work

Monorail trains under testing

Construction of the Mumbai Monorail started in January 2009 along the Chembur – Wadala – Jacob Circle route^[9] and was scheduled to be completed in April 2011.^[10] Due to delays, the deadline for operation of the first phase of the line, between Chembur and Wadala, was postponed to August 2012, and then 15 September 2013. The second portion, from Jacob Circle to Wadala, had been expected to be ready by December 2013.^[11]

A 108-metre test run was successfully conducted on 26 January 2010.^[12] 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 brakes 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.^[13]

The MMRDA invited proposals from agencies for securing, maintaining and leasing of bulk commercial advertisement rights to display advertisements on monorail piers and for securing advertisements at all the seven stations on the Chembur-Wadala corridor. The appointed agency will fix, maintain secure advertisements for the station areas and maintain monorail piers by removing all unwanted posters, stickers, drawings, graffiti etc. and also lease advertisement rights of these piers for commercial advertisements.^[14]

In a meeting between Larsen & Toubro and MMRDA official, held on 23 August 2013, the MMRDA raised concerns over the lack of trains, inadequate safety measures, technical faults and inexperienced staff working on the project. MMRDA metropolitan commissioner UPS Madan warned that the MMRDA would be forced to impose penalties and initiate legal action against the contractors in case of accidents.^[15][16][17]

The cost of setting up the monorail service is roughly 850 million (US$14 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 2.0 billion.^[18]

The monorail cars for this service will be built in Malaysia by Scomi Engineering Bhd. Scomi Rail owns 42% of the contract to build the 19.5 km monorail line.^[19]

Phases

The Mumbai Monorail master plan proposed the construction of 8 lines at a cost of 202.96 billion (US$3.2 billion).^[20] Further development of the monorail system is on hold until the current line opens and none will be opened before 2019; furthermore questions have been raised as to whether the monorails planned will have sufficient capacity for Mumbai's requirements.^[21]

Phase 1

Route	Length (km)	Cost
Line 1-- Chembur – Wadala – Jacob Circle/Saat Raasta (Sant Ghadge Maharaj Chowk)	19.54	27.16 billion (US$430 million)
Mulund – Goregaon – Borivali	30	41.7 billion (US$670 million)
Virar – Chikhaldongri	4.60	6399 million (US$100 million)
Lokhandwala – SEEPZ – Kanjurmarg	13.14	18265 million (US$290 million)
Thane – Mira-Bhayandar – Dahisar	24.25	33708 million (US$540 million)

Phase 2

Route	Length (km)	Cost
Kalyan – Ulhasnagar – Dombivli	26.40	36696 million (US$590 million)
Chembur – Ghatkopar – Kopar Khairane	16.72	36863 million (US$590 million)
Mahape – Shil Phata – Kalyan	21.10	29329 million (US$470 million)
Thane – Bhiwandi – Kalyan[22]	30	37.5 billion (US$600 million)

In September 2011, the MMRDA said that did not have an immediate plan to start the construction of a second monorail in the region.^[23] 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—^[24]

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.

Inauguration

The Mumbai Monorail was officially inaugurated on 1 February 2014 by Prithviraj Chavan, the Chief Minister of Maharshtra.^[5] It became the first monorail system in India.^[25] The service was made available for public from 2 February.^[6] He said after inaugurating the service—^[26]

The commercial operations of the 8.9-km first phase connecting Wadala-Chembur stations on the northeastern fringe of the megalopolis will commence tomorrow with the first train leaving the Wadala station at 7 am.

Chavan also said that it will take one more year to complete the project.^[26] The people of Mumbai warmly welcomed the new service in their city.^[27] Around 20,000 rode the monorail on its first day of operation, with long queues reported at stations.^[28]

Operations

A Mumbai Monorail train

Fares

On 2 February 2014, at the time of inauguration the minimum fare on Line 1 was between 5 and 11.^[6]

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 a BEST Bus.^[29]

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)^[4] and the overall speed including dwell time at stations would be around 31 kilometres per hour (19 mph).^[18]

Capacity and frequency

Trains in contrasting colours pass in front of the line's depot

The capacity of each four-car consist is 568 commuters under a 'crush load'^[30] and 852 passengers for a six-car consist.^[31] There are roughly 18 seated and 124 standing passengers per carriage (the end cars have a different capacity due to the driving position).^[32] The system has been designed for a 3 minute headway with operation from 05:00 to 24:00. The projected peak-hour traffic is 7,400 passengers per hour per direction with 125,000 passengers per day; this is projected to rise to 8,300 and 300,000 respectively by 2013.^[33]

The MMRDA has stated that the monorail will operate in a single shift from between 7 am and 3 pm, for the first two months of operation. The MMRDA claimed that the decision was because it wanted to cautiously roll out the system, as the monorail system was nascent in the country,^[34] its staff were new to monorail operations, and uncertainty over passenger traffic. Within two months of operations, the contractor in charge – a consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Malaysia's Scomi Engineering, will operate the monorail from 7 am to 7 pm. Full-fledged operations of 19 hours, from 5am to midnight, are expected to start only by February 2015.^[35]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mumbai Monorail.

• MMRDA Monorail
• MMRDA Monorail MAP