14th time in a row, deadline for Monorail corridor revised in Mumbai
The deadline to commission phase-II of the Monorail corridor between Wadala and Jacob Circle was revised for the 14th time after it looked unlikely that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority would finish the mandatory trial runs by February 2017.
The deadline to commission phase-II of the Monorail corridor between Wadala and Jacob Circle was revised for the 14th time after it looked unlikely that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority would finish the mandatory trial runs by February 2017.
This is not the first time that the project missed its deadline. According to the original schedule, the stipulated date for completion of phase I and II of the monorail was fixed at November 2010 and May 2011, respectively, but phase I was commissioned in February 2014.
According to senior MMRDA officials, they are still awaiting conductor rails, a key component that is required to power the monorail,without which trains runs were not to be possible. In October, the conductor rail dislocated from the girder beam of the monorail, near Lower Parel . “The contractor has been told to procure the conductor rail and they are in the process. It is being procured from United Kingdom and involves a tendering process, so it will take some time,” said a source.
MMRDA officials are expecting the component to arrive by January-end. Apart from that, the civil construction of the corridor is still not complete and the required number of rakes has not been shipped yet.
“The conductor rail will be here by January. Currently, we are giving the final touches to the civil construction including the stations which will be over by January-end. Once the remaining rakes arrive in Mumbai, the trains will be subject to a series of tests, including the 3,000km trial run, mandatory for the safety certification,” said a senior MMRDA official who did not wish to be named.
Now there are only 10 rakes, but when the entire corridor between Chembur and Jacob Circle is commissioned, there will be a requirement of more trains to ferry passengers. The rolling stock or trains are being manufactured the Malaysian company, Scomi Engineering.
Phase-II, which will connect Wadala and Jacob Circle, is a crucial section of the country’s only monorail corridor as it will cater to more commuters and make the project financially sound. Currently, the number of daily commuters on the operational 8.8km corridor, is in the range of 17,000 daily and this is expected to go up when the entire corridor is operational.
Phase I Missed Deadlines (Chembur-Wadala)
March 2010
December 2010
May 2011
November 2011
May 2012
December 2012
June 2013
August 2013
September 2013
October 2013
December 2013
January 2014
Inauguration: February 1, 2014
PHASE I
The country’s first monorail was commissioned on the Chembur - Wadala route on February 1, 2014. Ever since the opening of Phase 1, the line has faced a lot of technical issues. The services have been affected due to power tripping, incidents where the doors of the trains opened during the travel, and a train’s tyre had fallen on the ground.
Phase II Missed Deadlines (Wadala - Jacob Circle)
December 2010
May 2011
December 2011
May 2012
December 2012
December 2013
June 2014
December 2014
March 2015
December 2015
April 2016
December 2016
February 2017
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