Mumbai’s Monorail Services To Be Suspended From Sept 20 Amid Multiple Glitches
The move to suspend monorail services follows multiple technical glitches in recent weeks, including a snag that stranded 17 passengers and the August 19 disruption that left 800 passengers stuck.
Mumbai’s monorail services will remain suspended from September 20 until further notice to facilitate a comprehensive upgrade and integration of new infrastructure, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) announced on Tuesday.
Operations in both directions between Chembur and Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Saat Rasta) will be halted during the suspension. The MMRDA stated that the decision was necessary to conduct large-scale testing, install new systems, and refurbish the existing fleet, tasks that cannot be completed within the current 3.5-hour nightly maintenance window.
The suspension will enable the commissioning of 10 new rakes under the Make in India initiative, advanced Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling, and refurbishment of existing rakes. The CBTC system, being indigenously developed in Hyderabad, is being installed for the first time on the Mumbai monorail. Eight rakes have already been delivered, with the remaining two in inspection and assembly stages.
Multiple Technical Glitches In Monorail
The move follows multiple technical glitches in recent weeks, including a snag on Monday that stranded 17 passengers near Wadala and the August 19 disruption that left nearly 800 passengers stuck for hours during heavy rains. A committee has been set up to probe these failures.
Deputy Chief Minister and MMRDA Chairman Eknath Shinde urged commuters for patience, assuring that the suspension would help bring back the monorail “in a stronger form.” MMRDA Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee added the step was “carefully thought out” to make the system “safer, more dependable, and future-ready.”
Mumbai houses India’s only monorail system, a 19.74 km corridor between Chembur and Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk. The first phase was launched in 2014, with full operational capacity since 2019.
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