Thane-Kalyan monorail plan to be restructured

 

Mumbai: The monorail project for the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) has been put on the backburner while the 30-km monorail loop project for connecting Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan is being restructured.
    Joint commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority(MMRDA), Ashwini Bhide, said that since the Metro rail will also touch the BKC, they have to decide which route the monorail will take. “The monorail BKC route was earlier thought of as a means of getting commuters from Bandra (E) station to their offices in the complex,’’ said Bhide.
    The Rs 3,800 crore Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan loop, which was earlier discussed widely by planners, is now being restructured as surveys show that it might not be viable under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model as the projected estimate of commuters was not high.
    The first monorail project in the city is being built from Jacob’s Circle in Wadala to Chembur and is expected to be ready before the end of next year. “Things are still being discussed and nothing has been finalised,’’ said Bhide.
    The estimate for building the monorail in the region has been quoted at Rs 140 crore per km, said Bhide.
    The joint commissioner refuted allegations that the announcements for the monorail projects were made without any basis. “The surveys were made after we announced the project. Changes to the original plan are then decided. The final project takes shape after that,’’ she said.