Mumbai monorail in 30 months

The Mumbai monorail project (phase-I), which also marks the advent of monorail in India, is expected to be ready in the next 30 months. Nodal agency Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority recently awarded the Rs 2,460-crore ($520 million) contract to a consortium of Larsen & Toubro Ltd and Malaysian transport solutions provider Scomi Engineering Bhd. The duo got the better of other contenders that included Hitachi, Bombardier etc., bidding in consortium with Indian infrastructure developers.
The 19.54-km route will start at Jacob's Circle (western part of Mumbai) and move northeast to Chembur, via Wadala. Besides design and construction, the L&T-Scomi consortium will also operate the monorail for a three-year period.
The route will be punctuated by 18 stations, and supported by a central depot at Wadala. Operations will begin with a fleet of 15 train-sets, each having four cars. L&T's share in the contract is an estimated 55 per cent.