Monorail Phase 2: MMRDA's Republic Day gift to Mumbai

Come January, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to commence operations of the second phase of Mumbai Monorail by January 26 next year between Wadala and Jacob Circle in Mahalaxmi.

The MMRDA claims that it has asked the Malaysian operator Scomi Engineering to ensure that the second phase's operation is started by Republic Day.

The delay over starting the services on the second phase of Monorail despite having safety clearance of Monorail is due to a shortage of functional trains.

Out of the total ten trains, mere four trains are functional on the first phase between Chembur and Wadala, and remaining six are under non-functional and require repairs.

An MMRDA official said, "In our several review meetings we have discussed with the operator to ensure that the operations are restarted by January 26. While four trains are functional currently, six require repairs to be carried out. In any case, we are expecting the same to be operational by January end."

One Monorail train has four coaches and MMRDA anticipates the ridership to go up to around 1 lakh passengers using Monorail daily to around 12,000 passengers daily use the first phase.

The construction contract of Mumbai Monorail was awarded in 2008 to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Scomi Engineering, and the project has been in controversy since its inception due to technical glitches and has also come under the scanner of Comptroller Auditor and General of India (CAG) over irregularities.