Eight months old, Mumbai's colourful monorail facing teething troubles

It was only in February this year that then Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan inaugurated the country’s first monorail system in Mumbai. But in just about eight months, the new addition to the city’s transport system is already facing serious trouble.

Consider all these problems that currently faces MMRDA officials:

In mid-October, train services were suspended for three hours after a technical problem, reported in one of the rakes recurred on Saturday, recurred. The problem occurred when the Constant Velocity Joints of the train, which are connected to the axle, broke.

Another problem now faced is shortage of rakes. While the minimum time period between two trains was planned at 15 minutes, it now stands at 30 as authorities are short of functioning rakes.

The two new ones that have arrived are currently under test but will be pushed into service only when the second phase begins operation in December 2015.

DNA reports that “between 21 and 26 October, despite 10 rakes being available, only two were fit for service. Then, there are instances of doors opening on their own and machine parts falling onto the road below.”

The daily also reports that Rake 4 is facing braking problems. “Drivers are using emergency brakes to halt train at stations to ensure it does not overshoot the platform,” sources have told the DNA.

Meanwhile, commuters as well as residents along Line 1 are opposing the construction of tracks close to abandoned buildings. According to this Mumbai Mirror report, residents of Wadala have protested against a section of the second phase Monorail corridor, that they say passes “too close to two ghost buildings”.

“The second Monorail corridor being constructed from Pratiksha Nagar to Arthur Road passes through a stretch that can prove to be dangerous. Near Barkat Ali Naka at Wadala, the stretch passes two dilapidated buildings which stand taller than the corridor,” Anil Galgali, an activist who wrote to MMRDA, told Mumbai Mirror.

Risky affair-- Mumbai Monorail route sticks to dangerous buildings near Wadala. http://t.co/FmOFFGrYs5 pic.twitter.com/WuszJ1LGQo

— Rajendra B. Aklekar (@rajtoday) November 10, 2014

The 8.93-km long track that runs between Wadala and Chembur already had a taste of disaster twice before its launch. In June 2011 , a beam weighing 60 tonnes collapsed on workers at the construction site on RCF Road leading to the death of two workers.

In July 2012, another accident occured at around 9 pm when a slab collapsed in the Shantinagar slum area in Wadala East, trapping six people under the debris and killing one.

The second phase of Line 1, consisting of 11 stations from Wadala Depot to Jacob Circle, is scheduled to open in December 2015, if all goes as per plan. But will the concerned authorities first fix what’s seriously wrong?