Photographs: Sahil Salvi. Sanjay Jog in Mumbai
The launch of the first stretch of the Mumbai monorail project's first phase has been postponed yet again, this time to August 2013, an official said on Wednesday.
"The delay has been due to issues relating to construction and design and the rehabilitation of project-affected persons. Besides, there were also issues related to coordination among various agencies, including the Mumbai civic body, railways, police and other government departments. The delay was also because of time taken in giving right of way," an official of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) told Business Standard, on the condition of anonymity.
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When will Mumbai get the swanky monorail?
Photographs: Sahil Salvi.
He added the removal of encroachments and seeking police personnel for the same had also hampered the project's implementation.
The official, however, hoped the new deadline of August would be definitely achieved.
The first stretch of the Mumbai monorail project's phase-I was started in 2008 to construct a 9-km line between the Chembur and Wadala areas located near Bombay Harbour, at a cost of Rs 2,900 crore.
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When will Mumbai get the swanky monorail?
Photographs: Sahil Salvi.
This is the third time that the actual launch of operations has been deferred. The initial date was November, 2010. It was subsequently postponed to January, 2013 and now it has been revised to August next year.
The trial runs for the project were recently completed. A monorail with four cars would have a capacity of 562 passengers, while one with six cars would accommodate 852.
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When will Mumbai get the swanky monorail?
Photographs: Sahil Salvi.
The monorail project is one of the major infrastructure projects proposed in Mumbai with a total investment of about Rs 60,000 crore.
Other projects include metro rail, sea link, flyovers and bridges and additional rail corridors. These projects are in various stages of implementation to upgrade Mumbai's infrastructure.
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When will Mumbai get the swanky monorail?
The MMRDA has projected that the second phase of the monorail project which consists of a 10.368-km stretch between Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk and Wadala would not operational not before 2014.
"The second phase would also be delayed because of the long time taken to put in place clearances from the ministry of environment and forests," said the official.
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