UPDATE: MMRDA has clarified that while the first rake will be delivered in January 2023, all rakes will be delivered by January 2024 and not just the second rake.
Hyderabad based Medha Servo Drives has won the contract to supply 10 four-coach rakes to the beleaguered Mumbai Monorail system, says Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
Medha will deliver the first rake by January 2023 while the second rake will be delivered a full year later, in January 2024. The contract for 10 rakes is worth 590 crores. The new trains will be made of stainless steel and will be lighter, faster and stronger, according to a statement by the authority. MMRDA has not specified by when the delivery of all rakes will be completed by Medha.
10 more rakes added to the system can potentially increase the frequency of trains to one every five minutes. Services operate at one every eighteen minutes as of now, says MMRDA. With the entry of modern and hopefully more reliable rakes, the line may see better days after 2024, 10 years after it first became operational.
Mumbai Monorail Malady
Mumbai’s sole monorail line is a 20-kilometre stretch operating between Chembur and Jacob Circle, (Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk), Beset by disputes, delays, controversies and problematic execution, the line was partly opened in 2014. However, fire incidents caused damage to rolling stock, shutting the system down for several months. The full line became operational only in 2019.
The system, designed to handle 1.5-2 lakh passengers daily, carried less than 35 lakh passengers in the 9 months of March to December 2019. This is around half the pre-pandemic daily ridership of Mumbai’s local train system.
