Trouble on the tracks: Monorail riding roughshod over audit reports

Ever since the Phase I of Monorail between Chembur and Wadala was commissioned in 2014, it has been knee-deep in controversies owing to several technical glitches — the latest being a fire that broke out in an empty coach in November 2017 which resulted in the suspension of services.

Several reports prepared by Louis Berger, the Monorail’s proof checking consultant (PCC), revealed that the on-board communication system in all Monorail trains was not functional between April and October 2017 despite services running in that period. In its report, the PCC cited this as a safety concern which put lives of several commuters at risk.

The Monorail project was awarded to Larsen & Toubro and Malaysia’s Scomi Engineering in 2008. Since then, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has witnessed many ups and downs. In April 2015, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) came down heavily on MMRDA for several irregularities in the work being carried out.

SHORTAGE OF TRAINS

With seven out of the total 10 trains being under maintenance, the Phase I of Monorail was being operated with only three trains and these too witnessed several glitches in 2017.

The Phase I now stands temporarily suspended after an empty coach caught fire in November 2017 with MMRDA expressing its reservation over making it operational again due to safety concerns. Meanwhile, the Phase II between Wadala and Jacob Circle in Mahalaxmi is expected to be begin services in 2018.

NO COMMUNICATION

The communication system on services like Monorail and Metro is important because it is used by the pilot to contact the control room or make announcements for commuters inside the train in case of an emergency. A source from MMRDA said, “Due to the communication system not working in Monorail trains, pilots used mobile phones to report to the control room. However, use of mobile phones is not advisable on-board and is prohibited for pilots throughout the country including the Indian Railways.”

Meanwhile the MMRDA has denied that Monorail pilots were using mobile phones for communication. UPS Madan, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, told DNA, “Some instances of problems in the communication system had been noted but it is incorrect to say that pilots were carrying mobile phones for this reason. In any case, corrective actions have been taken from time to time by MMRDA.”

Despite Louis Berger notifying MMRDA and Larsen & Toubro-Scomi Engineering (LTSE) about the communication system’s failure, it seems no action was initiated as the issue repeatedly reflected in the PCC’s reports between April and October 2017 while the services continued to run.

The October 2017 report reads, “The operation of Phase I also not fully functional since number of systems such as Passenger Announcement (PA)/Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) at stations, help points and trains are not functional.” It further reads, “Vital equipment such as vehicle for rescue operation and vehicle for emergency operation, simulator, Jib Crane are also not procured. Number of trains for designed frequency of operations for Phase I are also not available though procured and lying defective in depot. Therefore, it can be described as a compromised/non-efficient operation of Phase I and cannot be accepted as completion with above deficiencies.” An email query sent to LTSE did not yield a response until the time of going to press.

REPEATED REMINDERS

The September 2017 report states, “Manufacture of train No 12 is in progress since last two years. It should be completed and offered for inspection immediately. Train no 2 has not been in operation any time. This should be operative immediately. Train No 3 has not been in operation since last three years. It should be repaired. Though all routine tests are completed for Train Nos 6, 7, 10 and 11, they are not operative. They should be repaired and made operative immediately.”

The source from MMRDA adds, “We always remind LTSE about maintaining the Monorail trains properly and their bills were also cleared on priority due to the operating venture having financial crisis but what we got instead is poor maintenance and that was one of the reasons behind the fire on November 9, 2017.”