MMRDA to suffer a loss of ₹52.4 lakh owing to Mumbai monorail shutdown

The MMRDA, which maintains the corridor, will lose around ₹5 lakh a day owing to the shutdown of the monorail, which makes about 131 trips at a cost of ₹4,000 per trip.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) is expected to suffer a loss of ₹52.4 lakh as a result of the fire breakout and subsequent shutdown of the monorail at Mysore Colony station on Thursday. Officials said that the monorail services between Wadala and Chembur are likely to remain shut down for the next 10 days while an independent probe committee certifies all the rakes.

On Friday, two coaches of a rake got charred owing to a huge fire (HT file)

The MMRDA, which maintains the corridor, will lose around ₹5 lakh a day owing to the shutdown of the monorail, which makes about 131 trips at a cost of ₹4,000 per trip.

UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner has set up an independent inquiry under PS Baghel, former commissioner of Rail Safety, to probe the incident and also check the other rakes to ensure safety before the operations begin again.

Sanjay Khandare, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA said, “Till the investigation is on, we will not be restarting the services.”

Three years after the launch of the monorail’s first phase, the service is used by around 17,000-18,000 passengers everyday.

The number is touted to increase after the second phase of the monorail between Wadala and Jacob Circle is made operational. However, phase-II of the project has already missed several deadlines and is now expected to be completed by December.

On Friday, HT had reported that the MMRDA is already making a loss of approximately ₹3 lakhs per day.