MMRDA gets nod from Kalyan and Bhiwandi Muncipal Corporations for Monorail

Bidding expected to be held at the earliest
Mumbai, April 18 2010 – The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has received the awaited consent from the Kalyan-Dombivili and Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporations for the 30-km Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan monorail line. Only consent from the Thane Muncipal Corporation is now pending before tenders can be issued.
“We have got a nod for the alignments of the monorail from other municipal corporations such as Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC), who are a part of the project. We are expecting the consent letter from Thane Muncipal Corporation any moment. Immediately after we get the approval from Thane Muncipal Corporation, we will submit the proposal to the Government of India for Viability Gap Funding (VGP) and later on invite the bidding process,” said Ms Ashwini Bhide, Jt Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA.
The authority has completed a feasibility study which was being carried out to find out the necessity of such a transport system which would ease the burden on the existing modes of public transport in the area.
“The Rs 3,750 crore Thane- Bhiwandi-Kalyan monorail project will have a station at every kilometre and will be implemented on public-private partnership basis and will be operated by a private party for a stipulated period of time,” said Mr P R K Murthy, Chief Transport and Communication Division, MMRDA.
The MMRDA had earlier contemplated four Monorail lines in the city the 19.54 Km Jacob Circle to Chembur via Wadala line, The BKC-Bandra East line (9 kms), the Oshiwara-Kanjurmarg Line (10 kms) and the Thane Bhiwandi-Kalyan Line.
The MMRDA has already undertaken the construction of the first corridor of the monorail, also the first in the country, from Jacob Circle to Chembur via Wadala. Work on the first link (Chembur to Wadala) is expected to end by December 2010 and the second (Wadala to Jacob Circle) by April 2011.
The monorail system would run through four corridors and carry about 10,000 passengers an hour during peak traffic to ease congestion in the city. Each train would have four cars capable of accommodating 700 persons. The Mumbai monorail will adhere to the highest safety and reliabilty standards followed internationally. Apart from reducing consumer stress by providing a crowded traffic free commutation system, the monorail will also provide lower costs and an eco-friendly design. It also has sleek exteriors and its air-conditioned cars add to the customer comfort.