Trial runs on second phase of Monorail to begin
Out of the 15 rakes required to run the corridor, the MMRDA currently has only ten rakes in its possession, of which only four are functional.
Mumbai: The commissioner of railway safety (CRS) will commence trial runs on the second phase of Monorail between Wadala and Jacob Circle in Mahalaxmi from July onwards, said Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials. Currently, the MMRDA is carrying out trial runs independently.
The CRS will carry out trial runs of around 3,000-km before giving the crucial safety certificate. CRS’s safety certificate is mandatory for commissioning of any railway project. Also, the second phase of the Monorail has missed several deadlines, and CRS trial runs are a major step towards its commissioning after which MMRDA plans to operate the second phase by year end.
Sanjay Khandare, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “The CRS will conduct trial runs for the safety certificate from July. After getting permissions from the state government and safety certificate, we would be able to start operating the second phase before year end.”
However, the MMRDA might face issues related to maintaining frequency on the second phase. It expects a threefold increase in ridership from the current 18,000 daily once the second phase is commissioned and a shortage of rakes is going to create a problem.
Out of the 15 rakes required to run the corridor, the MMRDA currently has only ten rakes in its possession, of which only four are functional.
However, remaining six rakes that are under maintenance would be made functional after the second phase is commissioned, taking the number of rakes to 10. Thus, due to the shortage of monorail rakes, the MMRDA will run only one train every 15 minutes.
Ever since phase-1 of the Mumbai monorail was commissioned, its operations have regularly been in the news due to constant breakdowns of the rakes.