Mumbai gets India's first mono rail

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan today flagged off Mumbai's first mono rail between Chembur and Wadala, which is expected to ease some burden from the city's suburban rail and bus services. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also attended the ceremony, which began an hour late due to the delayed arrival of Chavan. The service will be opened to the public from Sunday. The monorail service that will link Mumbai to major stations will begin its first phase of 8.93 km between Wadala and Chembur in the eastern fringes of the city. The second phase of the Rs 3,000 crore monorail project that will be extended to Sant Gadge Maharaj Chawk in South Mumbai is expected to be operational by mid 2015.The first phase of the monorail will cover seven stations between Chembur and Wadala. They are Wadala depot, Mysore Colony, Bhakti Park, Bharat Petroleum, V.N. Purav Marg, Fertiliser Colony, and Chembur. The second phase (to be completed in 2015) will cover a distance of 11.2 km and will include the following 11 stations: Chinchpokli, Chembur Naka, Wadala Bridge, Mint Colony, Acharya Atra Nagar, Antop Hill, Wadala, GTB Nagar, Fertilizer Company and Bharat Petroleum.The fare will range between Rs 5 to Rs 19 depending on the distance. The rates are similar to those of the Mumbai suburban trains or BEST buses but monorail will be a luxury ride at a cheap rate. There will be no monthly passes like the ones on local trains but there will be a system of smart cards.In the beginning, the services will operate with four coaches. The monorail will travel at an average speed of 65 kilometers per hour and will have a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour.It is expected to reduce the travel time between Wadala and Chembur by almost half. It takes 40 minutes at present but the monorail will take only about 21 minutes.The entire rail will be able to carry about 2,500 passengers (each car will accommodate 568 commuters) and they will arrive in stations at an interval of 15 minutes or four trains in an hour.For the initial weeks, the timing will be 7:00 a.m to 3:00 pm. It will later be changed to 5:00 am till midnight.