The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is all set to bring in three additional monorail racks into service in addition to the present monorail to help cope with rising commute traffic and will be put to use with immediate effect. The monorails are seen as an easy aternative to the exisitng local train commute rush on the prescribed routes it takes across the city.
The decision was taken keeping in mind the frequent technical defaults reported from the operational rack which would result in delays and constant inconvenience to the passengers. The new additions will take off the pressure from the only monorail running on the Chembur Wadala route. the procurement deal also includes spare parts needed for regular maintenance of the train. The MMRDA in the past had procured 10 monorail engines and racks but in the absence of spare parts nine trains were taken apart for spare parts required for repairing mechanical and technical snags in the racks.
MMRDA officials have assured the public of no further delays or breakdowns in the service and with new trains being put into operations immediately, the density of commute via monorails can also see a significant rise. Daily commuters in the past have had to wait for long durations for the trains to come since only two engines were being run thereby causing frustration especially in case of technical snags which would take considerable time to get repaired. The MMRDA needs two to three monorails to carry out services on the 8.8-km Chembur-Wadala phase smoothly at a frequency of 15-30 minutes.
Daily commuters such as Bhavya Gandhi from Chembur was happy to hear the news saying that ,“The MMRDA should have taken the decision long back but nonetheless I am very happy since this means there wont be frequent delays and I can reach my destinations well in time.”
The decision is coming at a time when MMRDA is setting out a plan to extend the monorail into a 20km corridor from Wadala to Acharya Atre Nagar with 15 rakes operating every day in order to achieve the 4 minute frequency.
The 20-km Chembur- Wadala- Jacob Circle monorail corridor is planned to be constructed in two phases. As per the original deadline, the first phase — from Chembur to Wadala (8.8km)- was supposed to be ready by December 2010.
After missing several deadlines, it was opened to the public in February 2014. The second phase — from Wadala to Jacob circle (12.2 km) — is expected to start by early next year.
