Monorail Mumbai’s new travel option

The highly sophisticated Vehicle Management System (VMS) offers supervisory control with monitoring and diagnostic systems. The HMI panel graphically displays the train status information for the operator, thus enabling him to understand the status of the entire train and respond quickly.

The brake system, based on the latest generation electro pneumatic mechatronic system, provides multiple functionalities including high integrity emergency brakes, service brakes, security brakes and parking brakes.

The driver’s console contains control button, panel view and the master controller assembly. Equipped with a Driver’s Vigilance Device (DVD), the master controller controls the propulsion and braking systems and prevents vehicle movement without positive manual actuation by the operator.

Monorail vs Conventional railway

A monorail, that requires minimal space both horizontally and vertically, runs on rubber tyres on an elevated concrete beam unlike a regular rail system which has steel wheels and runs on a steel beam. Use of rubber tyres and concrete beam not only makes it a very silent mode of transport but also increases its durability when compared with a conventional system that grinds and wears off much faster. Typically, each monorail tyre runs over 100,000miles before being replaced. Construction of monorail requires smaller footprints, lesser space for track construction and lesser material as compared with a metro.

The superior technology of the monorail enables it to execute sharper bends to meet precise locations. It can climb gradients of up to 6° compared to 1% of other rail systems and can negotiate turning radius of 50m while heavy rails require a minimum turning radius of 120m.

Monorail systems are commonly elevated, requiring only a minimal footprint for support pillars. Monorails are capable of climbing, descending and turning faster than most conventional rail systems. They are safer and have minimal risk of colliding with traffic or pedestrians. They also don’t trap excessive emission or obstruct sunlight. Their nitrogen-filled-run-flat tyres have rare chances of flattening. Even if they flatten, the monorail can go up to the next station or workshop as it uses double tyres.

However, compared with the conventional railway, monorail has certain drawbacks as well. A monorail switch always leaves one track hanging in mid-air which may lead to falling of the cars several metres down to the ground. And since monorail is smaller in design, its carrying capacity is much less than that of conventional train.

The monorail will be used as a feeder service to the main rail network. “Wherever the area is densely populated and does not have connectivity with the main network it certainly needs a monorail to connect it to the main network. We will be in a better position to supplement road traffic or cars and buses with monorails rather than suburban metro,” explains S N Roy, Executive Vice President, Larsen and Toubro.

He says, “Construction, at times, gets a little difficult though, like if there’s a pipeline at the median of the road and you don’t have any area where you can divert the monorail route, you have to first modify the foundation designs to accommodate the existing pipeline as well. This is hugely challenging as the structure of the monorail is being designed for a service life of 120 years.”

Adds Suhaimi Tan Sri Yaacob, Scomi’s Country President for India, “One of the differences between mass rapid transport system and the conventional mode of public transport is that the former moves in high frequencies.” The drivers of monorail, called ‘train captains’, are undergoing rigorous training under SCOMI officials.

Ticketing

The ticketing system will be based on Automatic Fare Control System provided by Indra, a Spanish company. For the regular travellers there will be contactless smart cards. By showing these the gates will open and the amount will be debited at the exit. For casual commuters, there will be tokens which will have to be touched both at the entry and exit gates for operation. Fare charges will range between Rs.8 to Rs.20.

Future plans

The second monorail project on cards is from Thane to Bhiwandi to be later extended to Kalyan. For this purpose, a techno-economic feasibility study is under way. The first project is a cash contract but henceforth, the projects will be structured as PPP. “Since Kalyan-Bhiwandi is not viable as a PPP project, we are restructuring it changing the alignment slightly so that the project becomes financially viable. Or else, we may have to divide it into two phases and the most viable phase will be taken up on PPP basis,” says Bhide.

The monorail system which currently operates as a means of public transportation in countries like Japan, Malaysia and China is likely to add a new dimension to suburban transport in Mumbai and other cities of India. It will not only ease the problems of the regular users of public transport but also encourage private vehicle owners to use the public transport resulting in saving time, money and essential fuels.

Manas Shrivastava