Mumbai Monorail

The Mumbai Monorail is a monorail system currently under construction for the city of Mumbai, India. Once completed it will be world’s second longest Monorail corridor. It is being contracted by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and will be the first monorail in India. Construction began in January 2009, and the first portion of the first line is scheduled to be operational by mid 2012.

Before further talking about the details of this project, let us know what exactly is monorail and how it is different from a metro.

A monorail is an elevated electric bus that runs on a single beam. The beam that serves as the track is known as "rail" and since there is only one of it, the term "monorail" is used. A monorail therefore refers to the track that supports the transport system or the transport system itself. The vehicle (or the electric bus) runs on the track can be a wheeled-vehicle or a magnetically levitating (maglev) vehicle. In a wheeled-vehicle monorail system, the vehicle is supported by multiple wheels that grip the track from all sides. The word "rail" in "monorail" is a misnomer. A monorail system has nothing to do with the conventional railway system.

A monorail system is faster and cheaper to construct than conventional railways (at-grade or elevated) and is used in congested areas having limited land availability. The monorail is more efficient at negotiating curves and gradients than conventional railways or light transport systems (e.g. trams). The ability of the monorail to handle curves varies inversely with the length of the vehicle.

Typically, a four-coach monorail can carry around 1,000 passengers. The monorail system has a simplistic structure with (elevated) piers at regular intervals that support the (horizontal) beams. Electric power for traction is drawn from the beam with no overhead cabling involved.

On the other hand, the capacity of a Metro system, which can accommodate up to nine cars, is about three to four times more. Thus, the capacity-to-cost ratio is better for a Metro system, even though the per kilometre construction cost is more.

The track on which the rail runs is narrower than the train itself and this is the major point of differentiation with the metro rail.

Read more: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-monorail-and-vs-metro-rail/#ixzz1nDRTdEmR

Considering the increase in population, increased travel demand and narrow road networks running through congested structures, there is a need of a system which will occupy less space as well as reduce travel time. With the objective, to support public rapid transit system such as suburban rail system and metro rail system and where public rapid transit system is not available or impossible to provide such system and where widening of roads is not possible due to structures on either sides.

Coming onto our subject, there are 8 lines proposed at a cost of Rs 20,296 crore  (US$4.47 billion). The Chembur - Jacob Circle line is the one which is completed and expected to be operational in mid 2012. The second portion, from Jacob Circle to Wadala, is expected to be ready by June 2013. The construction is to be taken in two phase. The first phase which covers Chembur – Wadala - Jacob circle, Mulund – Goregaon – Borivali, Virar – chikhaldongri, Lokhandwala – Kanjurmarg, Thane – Dahisar is expected to be completed by 2015. The second phase which covers Kalyan – Dombivli, Chembur – Kopar Khairane, Mahape – Kalyan, Thane – Kalyan is expected to be completed by 2021.

Line 1 of the Mumbai Monorail will be integrated with all 3 lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. The monorail stations will be connected with local railway stations at Mahalaxmi on Western Line, Currey Road and Parel on Central Line, and Wadala Road and GTB Nagar on Harbour Line.

The monorail will have a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph), an average speed of 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph) and the overall speed including dwell time at stations would be around 31 kilometres per hour (19 mph).

“While Mumbai’s local train is the backbone of the city’s transport system and buses cater to areas where the local train is not available, Monorail and Metro (which is also under construction) will further strengthened the city’s public transport system," a senior MMRDA official said.

With the objective, to support public rapid transit system such as suburban rail system and metro rail system and where public rapid transit system is not available or impossible to provide such system and where widening of roads is not possible due to structures on either sides, Mono Rail system is proposed to be implemented by MMRDA/GOM.

Let us have a look on recent monorail systems :

1.     

              Chongqing, China

Chongqing Monorail

•  Length : 17.4 km
• operation since : 2005
• current PPHPD : 17,000 

   Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur Monorail

• Length : 9 km
• operation since : 2003
• current PPHPD : 5,000

How Mumbai Monorail may look like :

For more information regarding Mumbai Monorail visit http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=608834

Advantages of Monorail over Metro :

1. It is of low cost.
2. It occupies low space.
3. It is a bit quicker to build compared to metro.

 So, in places where it is extremely congested and where Metro cannot penetrate (considering the cost involved) and not a viable solution, monorail can help soothing things.. Say in a very congested residential area where no main roads are there, Monorail is a good option.