The country's first monorail had a dream debut as around 20,000 Mumbaikars converged on the stations
to take a ride. I am sure that the commuters were happy as it took merely 20
minutes from Wadala to Chembur which otherwise takes twice the time to cover
the stretch by road during peak hours.
India’s first monorail has indeed rolled out in
style and how! The first of its kind in the country, to enhance clean urban
transport, Gurudas Kamat’s persistent efforts resulted in the approval and
sanctioning of the mono rail project. So, today as the people in Mumbai are
celebrating the arrival of monorail, I would like to thank Kamat ji and his
party workers for making this a reality.
Here are the few things that you need to know
about the Mumbai monorail:
· - The monorail will run every 15 minutes between
7 am and 3 pm. At its fastest, it will run at 80 kilometres per hour; the
average speed is set at 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph).
· - The monorail will be linked to major local
train stations. So the station at Chembur is connected with a skywalk to the
monorail station near it.
· - All coaches of the monorail trains are
air-conditioned; each train can carry 560 passengers.
· - Tickets are priced between Rs. 5 and Rs. 11.
· - There will be no monthly passes like the ones
on Mumbai's lifeline, the local trains, but there will be a system of smart
cards.
Mr. Gurudas Kamat’s initiative has yielded
wonderful results and has eased the commuting process. The next time you visit
Mumbai don’t forget to travel in the pink and blue coaches.
