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Journalism of Courage
After a series of glitches, Monorail services in Mumbai are being suspended from September 20, for a thorough upgradation of the transport network.
While the Monorail was announced amid much fanfare, ever since the service started in 2014, its running has been far from smooth. So much so that the project, built at a cost of Rs 2,700 crore, has earned the label of an ‘infrastructure white elephant’.
Now, thanks to repeated service disruptions, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to halt the trains, at least for two months.
Officials said that the pause will allow system-wide upgrades, including the induction of new rakes and an overhaul of signalling, aimed at making the service safer and more reliable.
At least six service disruptions over the past few months left several passengers stranded mid journey, whom the authorities had to then evacuate.
On Monday morning, a train stalled on a curve between two stations during heavy rain. Seventeen passengers on board had to be rescued. Last month, two trains carrying almost 900 passengers came to a halt during heavy rainfall, requiring emergency evacuations.
Apart from this, Monorail operations have suffered power failures, technical glitches, and overcrowding.
The MMRDA claims that with operations running from 6:15 am to 11:30 pm, only 3.5 hours at night are available for installation and testing. Safety protocols require the power rail to be switched off, discharged, and recharged each day, making major system upgrades and testing impossible during normal operations.
What upgrades are planned during the suspension?
According to the MMRDA, during the suspension engineers will work on:
Signalling modernisation: For the first time, the Monorail will use an indigenously developed Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system. Work already completed includes five electronic interlockings at 32 locations (testing underway), 260 Wi-Fi access points, 500 RFID tags, 90 train detection systems, multiple WATC units, and wayside signalling, with integrated testing in progress.
Rolling stock expansion: Ten Make-in-India rakes from Medha Servo Drives in collaboration with SMH Rail are being inducted. Eight have been delivered, the ninth is under inspection, and the tenth is in final assembly.
Fleet refurbishment: Older rakes will undergo overhauling and retrofitting to reduce glitches and improve reliability.
The MMRDA expects these upgrades to enhance safety, reduce train intervals, and improve overall service reliability.
The 19-km corridor between Chembur, Wadala, and Jacob Circle was designed to navigate congested urban corridors. However, its limited connectivity to job centres and transit hubs has hindered large-scale ridership.
The first phase of the Monorail began in 2014, but frequent breakdowns plagued operations due to financial troubles with the Malaysian contractor Scomi and cost escalations. In 2017, a fire gutted two coaches, resulting in a 10-month shutdown, before services resumed in 2018.
Ridership peaked at 61.6 lakh in 2015-16 but then fell sharply. After the MMRDA took over operations in 2019, the service gradually improved: local sourcing of spare parts and additional rakes reduced gaps between trains from 30 minutes to 18 minutes, and ridership climbed to 36.3 lakh in 2022-23, the highest in six years, though still modest compared with the Metro, which, introduced after the Monorail, has taken off much better.
What lies ahead after the upgrades?
The MMRDA believes that with new rakes and CBTC signalling, train frequency could improve to five minutes, doubling daily services to 250 trips. Multi-modal integration is planned, including foot-over bridges linking Monorail stations to nearby Metro lines 2B, 3, and 4, as well as suburban railway stations. Officials project that ridership could rise to 1.5 lakh passengers per day in the coming years.
Commuters are advised to use suburban rail services from Wadala, Curry Road, and Chembur, Mumbai Metro corridors—especially Line 1 (Versova–Ghatkopar) and newer east-west links—and BEST buses, which run parallel to the Monorail route.
