Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle monorail network operational from March

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on March 3, 2019, flagged off the much-delayed 11.28-km second phase of the Chembur–Wadala-Jacob Circle monorail network. With this, the entire 19.54-km route of the country’s first monorail system, being implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), is now functional. “The first 8-km route, which got commissioned in 2014 was used as a mere joyride, because there was no last mile connectivity. Now, with the commissioning of the second phase, it will no longer remain a joyride but passengers can now use it for a hassle-free commute,” Fadnavis said. Railway minister Piyush Goyal, who was present at the monorail inauguration event, said his ministry had given in-principle approval for connecting all monorail stations to ones on the suburban railway network. “We have taken this decision to connect monorail to all railway stations, subways and skywalks, to ensure end-to-end connectivity,” Goyal added. Monorail’s operations plan to operate 120 services, with a fleet of seven 4-coach trains between 6 am and 10 pm daily.