India’s First Monorail Inaugurated

The chief minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, inaugurated the first Monorail of the country of February, 2014 in Mumbai. After a number of operational hiccups and delays, the much- awaited Monorail made its debut. This being the first step taken for the long-harassed commuters of on the 1st

Mumbai to experience world-class travel was a breath of fresh air on the 8.9-km long journey. The Monorail was made open to public use from the 2nd Wadala station at 7 AM. The commercial operation consists of two phases; the first phase connects Wadala-Chembur stations on the northeastern parts of the city of dreams, Mumbai. The circuit in the first phase that connects Wadala and Chembur will halt at 7 stations on its journey.

The viewers were in an awe of silence seeing the shinning and colourful soft skyblue pink-refreshing green cars with black and white streaks. The clean railway platforms and an air conditioned environ stunned many.

The interiors of the train were equally remarkable- mostly in the shades of pastel colors, the train has large windows offering a multi-dimensional view of the city. The seats are arranged in an uncluttered and comfortable manner.

The spotless and clean stations are not too large area-wise and at a minimum height of around 5.5 metres or around 20 feet and much higher in some locations. The stations are at present accessed by staircases but will soon have escalators.

The 20-minute ride of the Monorail zooms across a section of the southeast Mumbai in its first phase, the unseen aerial view above the treetops, tall buildings have large slum pockets dotting its path. One gets a view of cinemas and residential complexes, the RFC oil refinery, the Eastern Freeway and the vast Arabian Sea on its journey in the Monorail.

The fare of the Monorail will be between Rs 5 to Rs. 11, depending on the destination of the commuters. Each train will have four coaches with a combined capacity of around 570 passengers. The train will run between 7am to 3pm, every 15 minutes.

The Monorail will halt at seven stations: Wadala, Bhakti Park, Mysore Colony, BPCL, Fertiliser Township, VNP-RC Marg Junction and Chembur. These areas are known to be thickly populated with no adequate service by the regular Western Railway, Central Railway and its Harbour line. The Monorail will run at speeds between 31 and 80 kmphs.

The Monorail is expected to give a huge relief to the commuters of Mumbai and de-congest the heavily trafficked roads that lay in the route of circuit.