Delhi Monorail

The monorail is all set to come to the crowded east Delhi. In an attempt to decongest the city and get more people to use public transport, the Delhi government has given an in-principle approval to a 10.8km elevated monorail link between Shastri Park Metro station and Trilokpuri via Laxmi Nagar in east Delhi. This is the first such link in the capital, which is expected to be functional by 2017. In the years to come, the monorail will also roll out in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Jalandhar in Punjab. The monorail is most successful in Japan. Malaysia and the United States of America, too, use monorail extensively in the crowded areas. After giving the in-principle approval, chief minister Sheila Dikshit has now asked the Delhi State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation to prepare a proposal to be tabled in the cabinet for a formal approval. To be developed at a cost of approximately Rs 1,655 crore, the route will have 12 stations and passengers will be able to interchange for three Metro lines. Delhiites will be able to interchange at Shatri Park Metro station for the Dilshad Garden- Rithala line; at Nirman Vihar Metro station for the Anand Vihar-Dwarka line, and at Trilokpuri Metro station for the under-construction Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar line. It is estimated that in 2017, the link will cater to a daily ridership of about 1.5 lakh. The fare structure has been proposed keeping in mind the cost of Metro tickets. For now, the fare is likely to be Rs 2.50 per kilometre. A state-of-the-art, automatic fare collection system will be introduced with ticket vending and smart token systems. Citing the monorail as a viable solution to decongest crowded areas, a statement from the chief minister’s office on Tuesday stated that the monorail has also been recommended as a mass transit in MPD 2021. The CM’s statement goes on to add that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has favoured introduction of the monorail in such congested areas where Delhi Metro services are not feasible. It has also been pointed out that laying of the monorail lines is cheaper as compared to Metro lines. The proposed monorail will be a straddle-type, elevated line that will be able to negotiate sharp curves and high gradient above the narrow roads. Light structures and columns can be placed in the limited median of roads. The rail can be located in crowded streets as it generates very little sound and is environment friendly. An alignment of the proposed route was also discussed in the meeting chaired by the CM on Tuesday. The route will start from Shastri Park Metro station passing through Yamuna Pushta Road, Rajaram Kohli Marg, Geeta Colony, Patparganj Road, Nirman Vihar Metro station on Vikas Marg, Ganesh Nagar, New Patparganj Road, Sanjay Lake to terminate parallel to connect proposed Trilokpuri Metro station.