Mumbai monorail 2: Train every 20 minutes on Wadala-Jacob Circle corridor

With fewer rakes available, a monorail will pass through the 19.6-km Wadala-Jacob Circle corridor every 20 minutes. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) got a safety clearance for the second phase of the corridor earlier this week.

With fewer rakes available, a monorail will pass through the 19.6-km Wadala-Jacob Circle corridor every 20 minutes.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) got a safety clearance for the second phase of the corridor earlier this week. “The number of trips will be limited as we have fewer trains. Even with 20-minute frequency, we are expecting heavy ridership,” said UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.

From 18,000 passengers for phase-1 (Chembur-Wadala), the planning authority is hoping the ridership will cross the 1-lakh mark once the second phase, which passes through Dadar, Parel and Chinchpokli, gets operational.

Experts had earlier said the trains should have a frequency of two-three minutes, at least during peak hours.

According to officials, the commissioner of railway safety, who issued the clearance, also suggested that MMRDA should get at least 10-15 rakes available for operations. Currently, of the 10 rakes, only six are operational. MMRDA is waiting for five more rakes.

Last week, the lowest bidder, ILFS has quoted 100% more than MMRDA’s estimated cost of Rs1,000 crore for the operation and maintenance of the corridor for the next 10 years. MMRDA got two bidders after issuing tenders four times in a year. The authority is likely to begin negotiations with the new bidder. While the authority said they are yet to arrive at a formal decision, officials said MMRDA has no choice but to negotiate. “There is no other way out. Otherwise MMRDA will be staring at a daily loss in lakhs,” said an official.