Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) successfully completed the first trial run of monorail on the complete stretch between Wadala and Jacob Circle in Mahalaxmi on Thursday. The MMRDA had initiated the trial runs in 2016 but they were was not successful due to several glitches. Now, MMRDA has decided to conduct trial run on daily basis from February 10. It expects to commission the second phase in May 2017.
“We conducted trial run on Thursday for the whole stretch of the second phase between Wadala and Jacob Circle measuring around 10-km and it was successful. There are three more stages before getting a nod from the authority for commissioning the second phase. We expect them to be completed by May 2017,” said Sanjay Khandare, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. In order to get a final clearance, MMRDA is required to get a nod from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), before which it also has to clear two levels of clearances by conducting trial runs for the whole second stretch.
The MMRDA is also set to increase the fare structure for the monorail after the commencement of the second phase. Currently, MMRDA charges Rs 5 to Rs 11 between Wadala and Chembur depending on the distance travelled. But the body has been incurring losses of Rs 10 lakh per day despite increase in the number of commuters since its inception in 2014. According to reports, the figure has gone up from 14,000 to approximately 19,000 per day. “Once the second phase is commissioned, MMRDA expects a daily ridership of around 1 lakh,” added Mr Khandare.
Ever since phase I of the Mumbai monorail was commissioned, its operations have regularly been in the news owing to constant breakdown. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had come down heavily on MMRDA, citing irregularities. The project was awarded to Larsen & Toubro and Scomi Engineering of Malaysia, in 2008.
