Chembur-Wadala in 18 min
The travel time between Chembur and Wadala will be reduced by half, once the first phase of the Monorail project is completed in August this year. Currently, it takes over 45 minutes to travel on the Chembur-Wadala stretch.
However, once the project is completed, it will take around 18 minutes to travel the same distance.
Saturday’s trial run on the stretch, took around 18 minutes. “Today, the average speed was 30-35 km per hour, but once open for public, the actual speed will be much more,” said an official. The travel time is hence, expected to drop further.
According to sources, the 8.8 km-long first phase is likely to be inaugurated on August 15, while the second half between Wadala and Jacob Circle has been scheduled for opening in August 2014.
The work of signaling and telecommunications at the stations are in the final stages. Certifications for commercial runs of the rakes are also pending.
“We have already appointed Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Authority as consultants for safety. The state government will appoint a safety certification engineer, who will be a retired commissioner of railway safety, to issue the Safety Certificate,” said Rahul Asthana, metropolitan commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
Each train of the four coaches will ferry 562 passengers in a single ride.
When Mr Asthana was asked about cost escalation of the `2,460 crore-project, he replied, “The total cost of the entire route between Jacob Circle and Chembur is coming to around `3,000 crore, the difference is due to additional taxes. If at all there is variation in the cost, the companies will have to absorb it because before bidding for the project, they must have calculated inflation and escalation.”
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