Mumbai Monorail corridor to be connected with Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 line at Mahalaxmi

The Chembur-Jacob Circle monorail corridor will be extended by about 500 meters to connect it with the under-construction Mahalaxmi Metro station

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to connect the Monorail corridor with Colaba-Seepz underground Metro 3 line to improve the connectivity to Mahalaxmi-Parel-Wadala areas.

MThe move is expected to make Monorail operations more viable and provide seamless connectivity to its commuters. (HT PHOTO)

The Chembur-Jacob Circle monorail corridor will be extended by about 500 meters to connect it with the under-construction Mahalaxmi Metro station. The move is expected to make Monorail operations more viable and provide seamless connectivity to its commuters.

MMRDA officials said that the process of studying how to go ahead with the extension and the cost of the project is ongoing. Post the study, the MMRDA plans to float bids for the construction of the additional track route and a station that will be known as Mahalaxmi Monorail station.

“We are planning to extend the Monorail route by around 450 to 500 meters and connect it with the Mahalaxmi Metro station. This will make the Monorail more viable considering it is in loss now, and also give commuters the option to travel from south Mumbai travel up to Chembur seamlessly via the interchange at Mahalaxmi Metro station. From here, commuters can take a Monorail and go up to Chembur,” said SVR Srinivas, Metropolitan Commissioner of the MMRDA.

Srinivas added, “The current waiting period for Monorail is very high, say around 25 minutes or even more with just three trains. However, we have already placed orders for more rakes. They will start coming in phases in two years. Simultaneously, we also plan to start the construction of the extension of Monorail from Jacob Circle to Mahalaxmi Metro station.”

According to MMRDA officials, the extension of Monorail beyond Chembur is being planned but it is not under active consideration at present. Plans to link Monorail with the Wadala-Thane Metro-4 corridor is being considered so it can be connected to densely populated areas of central Mumbai, including Dadar, Lower Parel, Chinchpokli.

On the parallel line, the Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 corridor will run from south Mumbai from areas like Girgaon, Mumbai Central going further into central Mumbai’s densely populated areas like Worli, Siddhivinayak Temple in Dadar, Mahim, Dharavi and further via airport to Seepz in Andheri. From Andheri, the MMRDA is constructing the Andheri-Dahisar Metro-7 corridor that will be fully operational by year-end.

Built at a cost of over ₹2,000 crore, the Mumbai Monorail corridor starts from Chembur and passes via Wadala. The operations commenced in February 2014 but it has been receiving flak owing to poor ridership and multiple technical issues. Of the 10 rakes, only three are currently operational between Chembur and Jacob Circle and the ridership is below 50,000 commuters daily.

The MMRDA feels the extension will prove to be a game-changer for commuters. SP Khade, Former Director of Mumbai Monorail, said, “If all the current technical problems in the Monorail rakes are solved, and after it is made safe for commuters, this corridor will be of true use. The extension will also make sense if the frequency is brought down to 5 to 10 minutes.”

Rahul Kanthaliya, a working professional who used to travel to the office in Lower Parel in Monorail said, “It is a great move for citizens coming from Chembur towards Colaba and Churchgate. However, the frequency cannot be 20 minutes and needs to be brought down to 5-10 minutes.”