The launch of the country's first monorail is likely to be delayed with the safety certification process hitting a fresh snag.
Mumbaikars will have to wait some more time before they can travel in country’s first monorail since the retired commissioner of Railway Safety who was about to give the final certification for the monorail corridor between Wadala and Chembur is unwell.
In order to avoid further delay, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has written to the state department to appoint a new official at the earliest so that the certification work can be completed.
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A monorail trial run being conducted between Wadala and Chembur. File pic
Speaking to MiD DAY, a senior MMRDA official, requesting anonymity, said, “Earlier, we had appointed an independent official GC Garg, who is a retired commissioner of Railway Safety to inspect the line and give the final certification. But from last month end he is unwell and in order that this does not delay the opening of the monorail corridor, we have sent a proposal to the state government seeking permission to appoint a new retired CRS official who will certify the line after conducting all the checks.”
It should be noted that MMRDA has already appointed a Singapore-based SMART agency to monitor the testing process, which has already given its report and certification to MMRDA. It has also given four suggestions, which it has requested MMRDA to implement before opening the corridor. MMRDA has already made the necessary changes and the only certification, which is required now to open the corridor is the safety certification from a retired CRS.
Speaking to MiD DAY, Metropolitan Commissioner UPS Madam said, “We have already received the report from SMART and once we get the final certification from a retired CRS official the line can be opened for the public. However, the final decision to open the monorail will be taken by the state government.”
A retired Commissioner of Railway Safety will also be inspecting the testing process. Another private agency will also be appointed for safety certification of the first phase of Mumbai monorail.
The work on the phase-1 of Wadala-Chembur monorail is almost complete and the final tests are underway.
At present the tests for signaling, communication, rolling stocks and auto-fare collection etc. are also being conducted simultaneously and the authority has been consulting Singapore’s SMART in this respect.
In the past, MMRDA had successfully conducted service trails or service runs during which the technical department people like those from the operations, maintenance, signaling, security and rolling stock had traveled on the monorail on the entire route.
There will be seven stations in Phase-I of the nine-km Mono Rail corridor - Chembur, VN Purav Marg, Fertiliser Colony, Bharat Petroleum, Mysore Colony, Bhakti Park and Wadala Depot.
The construction up to the concourse levels of all stations has been completed while work on platforms is still in progress at most stations. Earlier, MMRDA had conducted the first trial run of the monorail in 2010 but it was only on a small 200-metre stretch.
Advantages of the monorail:
Reduced traffic: Nearly 28,000 taxis and auto rickshaws and 25,000 private cars will be reduced.
Reduced travel time: MMRDA says the 40-minute commute will be reduced to 21 minutes
Less crowded: The capacity of the four cars is 8,000 to 12,000 per hour per direction (PHPD).
Reduced pollution: The monorail produces less noise and is eco-friendly.
Did you know?
The Rs 2,700-crore Jacob Circle-Wadala-Chembur monorail project was divided into two phases — Phase I: Wadala-Chembur and Phase II: Jacob Circle-Wadala.
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