Day before polls, MMRDA takes monorail for a spin

Despite opposition from the Shiv Sena and the BJP, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), on Wednesday, brought the shiny green monorail rakes out for a spin.

Despite opposition from the Shiv Sena and the BJP, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), on Wednesday, brought the shiny green monorail rakes out for a spin. However, MMRDA officials insisted it was not a trial run, but merely a test that was conducted over a distance of less than 150 metres within the Wadala depot.

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Earlier, the MMRDA had planned an elaborate trial of the monorail on 4.5km of track between Wadala and Mysore Colony. The planning agency, headed by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, had slotted the trial for Wednesday, a day before the civic polls. But the Sena-BJP combine opposed the move, terming it a bid to influence voters on eve of the civic elections.

Over the last week, the MMRDA has conducted multiple tests on the electrical functions of the monorail. Before that, trials were last conducted in January 2011 on a 120-metre stretch.

When complete, the 19.54km-long monorail will run between Jacob Circle and Chembur, via Wadala. However, the project that began in November 2008 has been running behind schedule. As per the new timeline, Mumbaiites will be able to ride the monorail between Wadala and Chembur by mid-2012, while the stretch between Jacob Circle and Wadala is expected to be ready early next year.