Starting this Sunday, Mumbaikars will get relief from traffic jams and overcrowded local trains, as the country’s first monorail service commences its operations.
The monorail system is a significant addition to the city’s public transport infrastructure. It will act as a feeder service for the suburban rail system and ease the traffic congestion to some extent.
First routeThe first route of 8.26 km will connect Wadala in Central Mumbai with Chembur in suburban Mumbai. The second route of 11.28 km, which is still under construction, will connect Wadala with Mahalaxmi. It is expected to be completed in the next 15 months.
Once the full line of 19.54 km is open for public use it will act as a feeder service for suburban railways system.
Malaysian infrastructure company Scomi in a joint venture with L&T is executing the project, which is expected to cost ₹3,000 crore.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the lead project developer.
Metropolitan Commissioner of MMRDA, UPS Madan addressing the media on Thursday said that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Pritiviraj Chavan will inaugurate the services on Saturday afternoon.
From Sunday, the services will run from 7 am to 3 pm, which would be ramped up gradually.
One rake will carry about 560 passengers, he said.
Madan said that the tickets are being priced between ₹5 and ₹11 with seven stations on the way.
There will be no monthly passes like the ones on Mumbai’s local trains, but smart cards would be sold at the monorail stations, he said.
The monorail will run at a top speed of 80 km per hour, while the average speed would be 65 km per hour.