WAITING TO TAKE OFF
Sharp turn on monorail
route sees only 4-cars
With Four Instead Of
Eight Coaches, Passenger Capacity Will Be Reduced By More Than A
Lakh
 Mumbai: The city’s monorail
promises to ease congestion on roads as well as the burden on
local train services, but whether the Rs 2,465-crore project
will meet expectations and make good on its promises is yet to
be seen. When it becomes operational by the end of the year, the
monorail trains will have only four coaches instead of eight
cars. This is because, say MMRDA engineers, the longer eight-car
rakes will not be able to negotiate the sharp turns on the 20-km
route from Jacob Circle to Chembur via Wadala. Passenger
capacity will therefore be reduced depriving over one lakh
potential commuters every day.
The four-car trains will be
extended to six at a later date. “The monorail being built for
Mumbai can negotiate turns up to 60 m of radius, but some of
these turns are between 60 and 90 degrees with a few close to 80
degrees.’’ The turns, which will be difficult for the longer
coaches to negotiate, are near Bhakti Park in Wadala, the
proposed Mysore Colony station, Mint Colony, Lower Parel,
Ambedkar Nagar, proposed Wadala station, Wadala depot, and
Chembur.
Given that the passenger load will be reduced by over a lakh,
experts have expressed concerns over whether the monorail will
live up to the hype, and also recover costs. “It can be a
success, but we may enjoy the benefits only in the long run if
we keep in mind the need for more cars and better technology ,’’
said MMRDA engineers who are currently working on the project.
They added that one of the solutions could be to modify the
route.
MMDRA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar, however, countered these
claims: “The present capacity of the monorail is based on our
estimation of commuter needs, and there is no urgent need to
increase the number of cars.’’
Sao Paolo in Brazil is also set to get a monorail, but the
trains will have eight cars. “To adopt the Sao Paulo model,
Mumbai will have to undergo the expensive exercise of purchasing
very advanced coaches and engines, which are presently only in
the planning at SCOMI—the company building Mumbai’s monorail,’’
said sources in MMRDA and SCOMI.
No show on Republic Day?
The monorail’s muchanticipated trial run scheduled for Republic
Day may turn out to be just a ‘show’. It had initially proposed
to carry out a test run on a 1-km stretch in Wadala, which was
then reduced to 500 metres. Now, the monorail car that has
arrived from Malaysia may only be showcased atop the 400m track,
sources said. But MMRDA has denied these rumours Less Than
Full Capacity
If 12 trains run every four-and-half to five minutes over a
period of 18 hours a day, the carrying capacity is as follows:
4-CAR 2.16 lakh PASSENGERS PER DAY
6-CAR
3.25 lakh PASSENGERS PER DAY
8-CAR
4.22 lakh PASSENGERS PER DAY Sao Paulo vs Mumbai
An 8-car monorail is currently being constructed in Sao Paulo in
Brazil. The upcoming monorail route is 28 km with 20 stations.
Mumbai’s track is 20 km long with 18 stations. The speed of both
the monorails is 90 km per hour, but will be run at an average
speed of 35 to 40 km per hour Track Record?
There will be 18 stations including Gadge Maharaj Chowk,
Chinchpokli, Road, Mint Colony, Ambedkar Nagar, Naigaon, Dadar
East, Wadala Bridge, Acharya Atre Nagar, Antop Hill &Chembur
Speed | 35-40 km per hour
Fare structure | Same as Mumbai metro. The rate will
range from Rs 5 to Rs 20
Total cost| Rs 2,465 crore
Deadline | By December 2010, the first half of the
route between Wadala and Chembur is expected to operational
|