Mumbai Monorail does it again. Services came to a standstill between Chembur and Wadala on Sunday night, only to resume on Monday. This is the third time in 10 months that services had to be suspended due to technical glitches.
Previously, services were suspended on July 20 after power supply had tripped at Fertiliser Township, while on October 12, services were suspended for 3 hours.
This time, Rolling Stock Number 5 gave problems to the operators – Scomi – and to the few commuters on board.
At around 8.15 pm, when the train reached Fertiliser Township station, the train's dashboard, that assists in operation, failed. The dashboard screens turned blue, thereby indicating that the system has hung. This resulted in requests to passengers to de-board.
The system of RST 5 hung in a similar manner as computer does. The only difference being, that unlike personal computers, the monorail cannot be restarted within a couple of minutes on the spot, but needs to be coupled to the maintenance facility for rectification.
As only two 'fit' rakes were operational on Sunday, the operators decided to recall the only rake (RST6) in the opposite direction that was ferrying passengers. Thus, services terminated at 9:15pm, instead of the usual 10pm.
Although there were more rakes in the Wadala car depot, they were not fit for operation, as one of the rakes had been damaged by a stone pelting incident. "The other train still has problems with its braking system," informed a source.
dna on September 26 had reported how RST 4 had braking issues and had been operating using emergency brakes.
In another incident on November 30, a portion of one of the guideway wheels fell after a tyre burst, while plying between the route. According to sources, part of wheel of RST8 fell on the ground, which till date, is missing.
An official from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) confirmed both incidents and added that a team of experts from the US has been asked to check technical issues, identify problems and provide solutions.
An MMRDA official informed: "In another two to three months, all these problems that have arisen should get eliminated with no issues with the revenue services and any rakes."
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