Mumbai Monorail Clears Major Safety Hurdle, Set For Grand Comeback After Months Of Suspension

Mumbai: On resumption of services, the Monorail is expected to run with a fleet of 12 rakes at an interval of eight minutes. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has also procured 10 new Made-in-India rakes from Medha Engineering in collaboration with SMH Rail, which will be inducted only after all safety clearances are secured.

Meanwhile, MMRDA is awaiting the nod from the state Urban Development Department (UDD) to appoint a senior engineer who will verify the findings of an independent third-party safety audit, a key step before services can be restored. Officials said that even after the verification, at least two more months will be required for trials and testing before commercial operations can resume.

At 9:30 pm, the Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Cooperation Ltd (MMMOCL) posted on X saying that they obtained an independent safety assessment clearance certificate.

The post reads, “Mumbai, the wait is almost over. A brand-new, safer, smarter, and smoother Monorail will soon be at your service. We’re proud to share that the Monorail has secured the mandatory safety certification for its new rolling stock and the CBTC-based signalling system from the Independent Safety Assessor, Bureau Veritas, a global leader in testing, inspection, and certification. This is a massive milestone and brings us one step closer to opening the upgraded Monorail for public use.”

“The next step will be the appointment of a retired Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety official to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the entire 19.54 km Monorail corridor and to grant the final statutory clearance to resume passenger operations. This process is also expected to be completed soon, after which the new, improved Monorail will be back in action for Mumbai,” it reads.

Monorail operations have been suspended since September 20 last year following repeated technical failures that raised safety concerns. The shutdown followed multiple incidents in 2025 in which trains broke down mid-journey, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded on-board. MMRDA halted services to carry out major upgrades, including the induction of new rolling stock, installation of communications-based control signalling, and refurbishment of the existing fleet.

Officials said the revival process has been complicated by limited maintenance windows, with only about 3.5 hours available each night for installation and testing due to the need to shut down, discharge and recharge power rails before daily operations.

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