Phase 2 of Mumbai monorail gets safety nod

tanushree.venkatraman@hindustantimes.com

After missing more than 15 deadlines in the past 10 years, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) can finally begin services on phase 2 of the Mumbai monorail corridor (Wadala-Jacob Circle).

The commissioner of railway safety (CRS) – the authority that looks into safety of railway, metro and monorail – on Tuesday gave clearance to the monorail, but with certain riders. “I have submitted a report giving them safety clearance, with certain observations,” said CRS GP Garg.

The MMRDA is the nodal authority for the project, the first monorail in India. The phase 2 of the monorail was to be commissioned in December 2010. It is a crucial section of the corridor, as it will go through densely populated areas in the city. With this, MMRDA officials are expecting the ridership to go up considerably, making the project financially viable. The trial runs for the phase were completed on March 28.

According to MMRDA officials, the suggestions include precautions for fire safety and temperature gauge, to prevent a blaze like last November. They have also been asked to maintain adequate staff to run the rail, keep stock of adequate spare parts, among others.

UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “We will study the conditions and see how soon we can act on them.”

Madan said they will commission the corridor once the state government issues a notification.

The phase-1 (Chembur to Wadala) of the monorail, which started in 2014, has been shut since November 2017, owing to the fire. After the fire, an expert committee appointed by the MMRDA to look into safety measures had termed the monorail “death trap”, suggesting several measures to ensure safety of passengers. The ridership for phase 1 is only 17-18 lakh passengers a day, with MMRDA facing losses of up to Rs3 lakh a day.