Mumbai Monorail trial runs

A trial run of the monorail from Wadala to Bhakti Park (2.5 km) has been scheduled for July and another from Wadala to Mysore Colony (4.5 km) will be held on August 15. Officials connected with the project said that L&T and Scomi, the builders of the project, are pushing hard to meet these deadlines. ‘‘We still have to get government clearance for sourcing electricity from Tata Power,” they said. The monorail will use 700 volts of power. Two of the 15 trains for the monorail have already arrived in the city. The opening of the monorail for the public will, however, come only a few months after the August trial, they added. The monorail’s first line—Chembur -Wadala -Jacob Circle-—will cover 20 km and cost almost Rs 3,000 crore. The Chembur-Wadala section will be completed first and the second phase will be from Wadala to Jacob Circle. ‘‘Each train will have 64 tyres. Initially, we will use the French tyres but will try and get an Indian manufacturer to produce them later,’’ said an MMRDA official.