Mumbai’s monorail dream came a step closer to reality when a consortium, led by Larsen & Toubro, along with Scomi Engineering Bhd, Malaysia, bagged a Rs 24.6-billion (Rs 2,460-crore) order from the MMRDA to implement the project.The letter of intent was recently awarded to Larsen & Toubro—a leading engineering and construction company—and Scomi Engineering, one of the world’s top three monorail manufacturers. The entire project will include the designing, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of a monorail line from Jacob Circle to Wadala (11 km) and from there to Chembur via Mahul (9 km) on a turn-key basis. There will be 18 stations and the project is slated to be over in 30 months.According to the officials, the straddle-kind monorail system complies with the highest international standards of safety and the cars move on a single beam in an elevated corridor. The design is such that the project can be completed fast as it requires a small foot-print and the least number of structures need to be demolished to make way for the system. Other advantages include great reliability, high manoeuvrability, low cost and an eco-friendly design that make monorail an attractive option for a city, which is forever crunched for space. The trains, with its sleek exteriors and AC cars, can negotiate sharp curves and can handle gradients up to 6%.The monorail system, the first one to be set up in the country, will provide interconnectivity to the suburban railway (Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel Station of Western Railway, Curry Road, Dadar and Wadala of Central Railway) and the forthcoming Metro rail.
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