Pretty in Pink !

Mumbai Monorail trials begin on the Chembur - Wadala route

India's first Monorail snippets

India’s first 20-km monorail between Jacob Circle and Chembur station via Wadala is expected to take the load of nearly three lakh commuters who are currently taking buses, trains, taxis, autorickshaws and private vehicles along the same corridor.It promises to reduce 80,000 bus trips (one way), 28,000 taxi and auto trips on a daily basis. About 25,000 cars are expected to go off the city’s congested roads. Over 22 lakh people living within 2 km on either side of the track will be benefited by the facility. The state government forwarded the details of the proposed monorail system to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who will inaugurate the ambitious project in Chembur on November 29. First section of the project between Jacob Circle and Wadala will be 12 km long. Passengers will be able to cover the distance in 25 minutes. This route will have 11 stations. Second section between Wadala and Chembur will be 8.2 km. Passengers will be able to cover the distance in 19 minutes. The route will have 7 stations. In all, the distance of 20.2 km from Jacob Circle to Chembur will be covered in 44 minutes. The monorail train will run at a speed of 32 km per hour and will be completely air-conditioned to attract commuters who travel in luxurious vehicles . There will be a total of 18 stations, each at a height of 11 metres. Stations will have elevators for the elderly. The 2 tracks will run 9-11 metres from above the ground on a single pillar n Initially, 15 trains will be commissioned on the two-way track to be erected on a single pillar . Initially, a train will be available every 4.5 minutes. The waiting period will subsequently be reduced to 3 minutes. Capacity per carriage is 150 persons (30% seating and 70% standing with occupancy as 6 persons per sq mt). Size of the coach will be 8.6m x 2.8m . Each train with 4 coaches will have a capacity to accommodate 600 passengers. Capacity of the train when the number of coaches are increased from 4 to 6 will be 800 passengers. Each monorail train will have the capacity to carry a passenger load of eight to 10 buses on the roads along the same corridor. Peak hour peak direction (PHPD) traffic on the monorail can be enhanced from 9,000 PHPD to 16,000 PHPD by adding two coaches to each train . The length between two pillars will be 3.7 metres and the tracks will be two-and-a-half feet wide n Skywalks connecting stations with roads will be constructed to ease passenger movement. Will need only one depot that will be located in Wadala .

Mumbai Monorail snippets

With more monorail routes in the offing, Mumbaikars can look forward to a smoother and faster ride across the congested areas of the city. The metropolitan commissioner, Ratnakar Gaikwad, said Lea & Associates, which is conducting a comprehensive transportation study for the Mumbai region, will prepare a masterplan for monorail and the new links would seek to improve the east-west connectivity. Three routes have already been planned besides a fourth one, a Rs 2,500-crore project, which is supposed to connect Thane with Kalyan and Bhiwandi. The monorail will supplement the Metro rail routes, which there will be nine in the city. Work on the first one is already underway, which will be from Versova to Andheri to Ghatkopar. Gaikwad, who has just come back from a trip to China, Malaysia and Japan, said he was confident that the Malaysian firm, Scomi, which has teamed up with L&T to build the first monorail link in the city (Jacob Circle-Wadala- Chembur) would be able to meet the government expectations. The second route will be from Oshiwara to Kanjur Marg (10 km) and the third one from the Bandra-Kurla Complex to Bandra (E). A techno feasibility study for the intercity connectivity of Thane-Kalyan-Bhiwandi is also underway, said the MMRDA chief. “The consultants are Sowil, an internationally renowned firm, which collaborated with China Railway Eryan Engineering Group,’’ he added.Gaikwad and the state team that visited the Southeast Asia seemed to be more than impressed with the infrastructure development in Malaysia and China. The team also visited the company at Nanjing in China, which is making coaches for the Mumbai Metro One project. The first phase of the underground railway is expecting 64 coaches from the Chinese firm and the rakes will be delivered before April 2010.

Mumbai Monorail inches ahead

The monorail project for Mumbai got a step closer. Two consortia submitted their technical and financial bids for building the first monorail line from Jacob Circle-Wadala-Chembur costing Rs 1,440 crores.Larsen & Toubro has teamed up with Scoomi of Malaysia to compete with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Hitachi for the 20 km long line which will have 18 stations.The technical bids will be evaluated first, only if they are technically sound will the financial bids be opened before the contract is awarded.RITES, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways will be involved in evaluating both the technical and financial bids. Two other routes on the cards are from Lokhandwalla Complex to Kanjur Marg and from Chembur -Mahul-Chembur.