German-made Constant Velocity joint to replace problematic monorail equipment

It's official. German-made Constant Velocity (CV) Joint will be procured to replace the problematic equipment in Mumbai Monorail rakes.

With Mumbai Monorail rakes being repeatedly affected by technical glitches, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) asked the Malaysian monorail manufacturer, Scomi, to procure new equipment to replace the problematic ones instead of modifying them.

According to an MMRDA official, it was after a series of meetings between the authority and Scomi that it had been decided to procure CV Joint of German make. "The CV Joint that Scomi will procure is off-the-shelf technology, and would undergo acceptance-level testing procedures in Malaysia. Thereafter, it will be brought to Mumbai to replace the existing ones," said the senior official.

It should take another three months to replace the equipment. Modifications would, in the meanwhile, be made to keep the monorail services on track. On Wednesday, three monorail rakes were put into operation.

On Oct 14, dna had reported about disruption in operations on the Wadala Depot-Chembur monorail corridor after CV Joint connected with traction motor number 7 and 8 threw up technical issues.

The official, who explained the problem, said the trouble was at the interface between CV Joint and the motor. This particular equipment was not manufactured in Malaysia but bought from another country and later assembled in Scomi's manufacturing unit at Rawang in Malaysia.

In all Mumbai is to have nine monorail trains. Six will be brought here a few months before the second phase of Mumbai Monorail is completed, for testing, trials and safety certification. The second phase between Wadala Depot and Jacob Circle (Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk) is scheduled to be completed by Dec 2015.