The much awaited Mumbai monorail was inaugurated by
Maharashtra's Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister on 01st February 2014 Saturday.
The fastest service will be open to the public on 2nd February 2014 and making Mumbai
the first Indian
city to ever use such a transport facility.
The monorail service that will link the city to major
stations will begin its first phase of 8.93 km between Wadala and Chembur in
the eastern fringes of the Commercial Capital. The first phase of the monorail
will cover seven stations between Chembur and Wadala, whcih are Wadala depot,
Mysore Colony, Bhakti Park, Bharat Petroleum, V.N. Purav Marg, Fertiliser Colony,
and Chembur.
The monorails will travel in an average speed of 65km per hour and will have a maximum speed of 80km per hour. It is expected to reduce the travel time between Wadala and Chembur by almost half. It takes 40 minutes at present but the monorail will take only about 21 minutes.
The second phase of the monorail project that will be extended to Sant Gadge Maharaj Chawk
in South Mumbai is expected to be operational by mid-2015. The second phase will cover a distance of 11.2km and will
include the following 11 stations: Chinchpokli, Chembur Naka, Wadala Bridge,
Mint Colony, Acharya Atra Nagar, Antop Hill, Wadala, GTB Nagar, Fertilizer
Company and Bharat Petroleum.
The fare will range between 5 to 19 depending on the
distance. The rates are similar to those of the Mumbai local trains or buses
but monorail will be a luxury ride in cheap rate. There will be no monthly
passes like the ones on Mumbai's local trains but there will be a system of
smart cards.
In the beginning, the services will operate with four
coaches. The entire rail will be able to carry about 2,500 passengers and they
will arrive in stations at an interval of 15 minutes or four trains in an hour.
For the initial
weeks, the timing will be 7:00 a.m to 3:00 pm. It will later be changed to 5:00
am till midnight.
