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PRIMERY DATA
Construction[edit]
Then Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan laid the foundation stone in a ceremony at the Acres
Club, Chembur on 9 February 2009.[12] The MMRDA commissioned the construction of the line in two
phases. The first stretch linked Wadala on the outskirts of the island city with Chembur in the north-
east, and the second connected Wadala with Jacob Circle in South Mumbai.[13] The original deadline
for the project was April 2011.[14] The project was delayed by issues involving land, removal of
encroachments, delays in getting permissions from the civic body and railways, [15] and missed several
deadlines for completion. The following months had all been announced as deadlines for the first
phase - December 2010, May 2011, November 2011, May 2012, December 2012, June 2013, August
2013, 15 September 2013,[16] October 2013 and December 2013. Deadlines announced for the
second phase were May 2011, December 2011, May 2012, December 2012, December 2013, June
2014, December 2014 and March 2015.[17] A Right to Information (RTI) request filed by RTI activist
Anil Galgali revealed that the three-year delay in commissioning the monorail was primarily due to
change of alignment of its route, which led to further cost escalation of the project. [18]
A 108-meter test run was successfully conducted on 26 January 2010.[19] A one-kilometer test run
from Wadala to the Bhakti Park monorail station was undertaken on 18 February 2012.[20] The first
test run of the entire route was conducted by the MMRDA in November 2012.[14]
In late December 2013, the MMRDA announced that it had submitted an application to Safety
Certification Authority (Engineer) for the Chembur-Wadala stretch. The Safety Certification Authority
goes through the documents, and physically inspects the corridor, and commercial operations can
commence only after receiving its approval.[21] The electrical systems were certified by the Electrical
Inspector General.[20] The contractor, the consortium of L&T and Scomi Engineering, had safety
checks performed by an independent inspector. Official safety checks were performed by SMRT Corp
of Singapore and R.C. Garg, retired Commissioner of Railway Safety.[22] The final safety certificate
was issued on 20 January.[23][24] The safety certificate was then forwarded to the State Government,
which issued a notification for commissioning the system. The notification contains norms for
operation and maintenance of the system, which requires approval from the Chief Minister. [25]
Opening[edit]
Line 1 was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on 1 February 2014 at the
Wadala Depot monorail station. After flagging off the first monorail train at 3:47 pm, Chavan along
with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and other officials rode the entire route, arriving at Chembur
monorail station, 20 minutes later.[26][27][28][29] The party then proceeded to Gandhi Maidan, 15th Road,
Chembur (East), where the Chavan declared the monorail "open".[30] The monorail was opened to the
public the following day,[31] with the first trip commencing from Wadala Depot at 7:08 am. [32] According
to the MMRDA, it had very few passengers, as the gates were opened to the public only at 7:10 am,
when the train had already left.[33] Nallasopara resident Sunil Appa Khade claimed to be the first ever
commuter on the monorail. However, Abhishek Chopra claimed that though he was second in queue,
he had managed to enter the monorail first.[33][34] The first train from the opposite side, departed
Chembur at 7:10am[35] Services had been scheduled to operate until 3:00pm, however, station doors
were closed by 2:30pm due to larger than expected ridership. Services were operated until 4:30pm, in
order to provide a ride to everyone who had purchased a ticket.[36] On opening day, 19,678
passengers travelled on the line. Sixty-six services were operated on the first day,[37] netting a
revenue of ₹2.2 lakh (US$3,200) through the sale of tickets and smart cards.[32][34][38]
In the first week of operations (2–8 February 2014), the monorail transported 1,36,865 passengers in
about 512 trips, earning a total revenue of ₹14,24,810. A total of 1,32,523 tokens and 1409 smart
cards were also sold during the first week.[39][40][41] According to the MMRDA, between 2 February and
1 March, a total of 4,58,871 commuters used the monorail, generating a total
revenue ₹44,66,522.[42] The monorail was closed for the first time on 17 March 2014 due to Holi.[43]
Years of delays later Phase 2 was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on
3 March 2019.[
Plan[edit]
The Mumbai Monorail master plan proposed the construction of 8 lines at a cost of ₹202.96
billion (US$2.9 billion).[45]
Length
Phase Line Corridor Estimated cost
(km)
Chembur–Wadala Depot–Jacob
1 19.54 ₹27.16 billion (US$390 million)
Circle
2 Mulund–Goregaon–Borivali 30 ₹41.7 billion (US$600 million)
Phase I ₹18,265
4 Lokhandwala–SEEPZ–Kanjurmarg 13.14
million (US$260 million)
₹33,708
5 Thane – Mira-Bhayandar – Dahisar 24.25
million (US$490 million)
₹36,696
6 Kalyan–Ulhasnagar–Dombivli 26.40
million (US$530 million)
Phase Chembur–Ghatkopar–Kopar ₹36,863
7 16.72
II Khairane million (US$530 million)
₹29,329
8 Mahape–Shil Phata–Kalyan 21.10
million (US$420 million)
In September 2011, the MMRDA said that did not have an immediate plan to begin construction of a
second monorail line in the region.[46] They clarified that although it did not mean that they are not
interested in carrying out the project, it may not follow the currently planned schedule. An MMRDA
official stated, "There is no point in going for new routes. As long as the first route is not
commissioned and the results are not out, we would not commission any new routes. MMRDA feels
the need for a monorail would arise after all the proposed metro rail routes were commissioned with
the monorail serving as a feeder service."[47]
In 2009, the MMRDA proposed the construction of an additional line on the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan
route. The route was proposed to have a station at every kilometer, cost ₹3,750 crore (equivalent
to ₹70 billion or US$1.0 billion in 2018) and be implemented on public-private partnership basis. It
was further proposed to extend the corridor from Kalyan to Badlapur in the next phase.[48] This project
was shelved by the MMRDA in February 2014. The proposed corridor would have been 23.75 km
long, and cost approximately ₹3,169 crore.[49]
Further development of the monorail system is on hold, and questions have been raised as to
whether the proposed monorail corridors will have sufficient capacity to meet Mumbai's
requirements.[50] The monorail may not be further extended by the MMRDA, as it may prove
inadequate for Mumbai's population density. Foreign consultants have suggested a Metro
or LRT system over a monorail for many Indian cities, e.g. Bangalore.[51][52][53]
On 16 April 2015, The Economic Times reported that the State Government had decided to scrap all
future monorail projects. The paper quoted an MMRDA official as saying, "There was a proposal for a
Monorail from Thane to Kalyan and Bhiwandi, and also a line from Thane to Wadala. However, all
those plans have been scrapped. There won't be any new Monorail projects." [54][5
SECONDARY DATA
A month after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated phase-2 (Chembur to Jacob Circle) of the
monorail, thereby opening up the entire monorail corridor, only around five lakh commuters have travelled in it.
During the inauguration, Fadnavis had said opening of the second phase will attract a ridership of 30 lakh a
month in the corridor.
As per data available with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), 5,55,054
commuters took the monorail till March 31. This has earned revenue of ₹96.29 lakh for the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
Fadnavis and railway minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the 11.28km-long phase-2 on March 3. Operations
began on March 4.
While Fadnavis had said during the inauguration that the monorail would no longer be a joyride, the numbers
reveal a different story.
In the first week of its operations, the MMRDA had earned a revenue of ₹32,21,548. MMRDA officials,
however, said the inauguration was a “soft launch” and ridership will increase once the frequency along the
entire 19.54km-long monorail corridor reduces. As of now, the MMRDA is operating the corridor on four rakes
with a frequency of 22 minutes.
“We are looking at getting more rakes to reduce the frequency,” an MMRDA official said.
A city-based transport expert, who did not wish to be named, said the MMRDA has to reduce the frequency,
make ticket prices more affordable and also address safety issues to attract more commuters.
A week after the state government inaugurated the Mumbai Monorail project with much fanfare, the new
transport project is yet to attract ridership.
While authorities estimated that the ridership would be around one lakh once phase-2 (from Wadala to Jacob
Circle) was functional, the per-day ridership has not even reached the 50,000 mark. According to data, ridership
between March 4 and March 10 was 1,76,841.
On March 3, CM Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated phase-2 and said it would attract a ridership of 30 lakh per
month.
Since its launch, ridership was highest on Maha Shivratri (March 4), indicating that citizens are still using the
Monorail for joyrides rather than daily commute. On March 4, the ridership was 27,793 and on March 10, a
Sunday, it was 30,744, revealed the data. In this one week, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development
Authority earned a revenue of ₹32,21,548.
City-based transport experts said one of the main reasons for the poor show is the infrequency between trains.
“Who will wait for 22 minutes in a city like Mumbai?” asked AV Shenoy, a transport expert. He said the new
fares, which are equivalent to those for the Metro, may not be affordable to all. Ravinarayan Seshan, a resident
of Matunga, said, “Maybe lack of publicity and infrequency is putting people off.”
However, Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director, said ridership has been increasing. “Even on Sunday, we
crossed the 30,000 mark,” he said.
With this, the whole 19.54 km line is now operational
The second line of Mumbai monorail from Wadala to Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Mahalaxmi) was opened to
commuters on Sunday after years of delay. The first line from Chembur to Wadala is operational since February
1, 2014. The whole project is being implemented by the Metropolitan Region Development Authority
(MMRDA).
The project had started in 2008 but has been mired in numerous management and operational delays. After the
2008 Mumbai attack, the project was stalled for a year for security reasons as Pakistani terrorist, Ajmal Kasab
was imprisoned in Arthur Road jail, which is the vicinity of Monorail line. In effect, it has taken 11 years for the
MMRDA to complete the 19.54 km line, a senior MMRDA official said.
The project started with good intentions but with poor planning. Also the route was mapped from areas such as
Sindhi camp, which has an extremely dense population and lots of illegal structures, the official added.
On Sunday evening, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the 11.28 km Monorail’s second line from
Wadala to Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis during the inauguration of
Phase II of Mumbai monorail on Sunday. - PTI

The first line of 8.26-km from Chembur to Wadala is already operational and now with this new line
operational, the commuters will be able to ride the entire 19.54-km long line. Currently the whole corridor from
Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Mahalaxmi) to Chembur is devoid of any mass public rapid transit system.
The Monorail will operate daily from 6 am to 10 pm with a 22-minute gap between the two trains and will also
reduce the travel time from 90 to 30 minutes, a statement issued by MMRDA said.
The construction, operation and maintenance of the line was awarded to LTSE – a joint venture by Larsen &
Toubro Ltd. and SCOMI Engineering BHD of Malaysia. But on December 14, 2018, contract with LTSE was
terminated for their failure to perform and fulfil contractual obligations. LTSE had failed to supply the Rolling
Stock Trains (RST), Operate and Maintain the system on the entire corridor and rectify defects as per the
contractual clauses.
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