Mumbai: Procurement of additional rakes and supply of spare parts for the available monorail have been delayed for a long time affecting the frequency of trains.
The reason for this delay is that the guideway beams (tracks), where the monorails run, has been designed in such a manner that only Malaysia-based company SCOMI Engineering-designed rakes can run on them.
If any other company comes ahead to supply rakes, they will have to modify their rakes designs as per the Mumbai Monorail guideway beam, said MMRDA Commissioner RA Rajeev on Thursday.
Rajeev added that since the manufacturing companies that can design such specific rakes across the world are few, the authority is finding it difficult to procure more rakes so as to run the services efficiently.
Moreover, even if other manufacturers get ready to provide modified rakes, the cost eventually increases. However, with no option left, they are ready to spend more if needed, the commissioner said.
When asked if this constraint would put additional financial burden on the monorail system, Rajeev asserted that no public transport facility is a profit-making business. Therefore, whatever way possible, the authority will try and improve the monorail services, he added.
The entire 19.5 km of monorail route operated by MMRDA with only five rakes running the trip between two monorails at a gap 22 minutes between Chembur and Jacob Circle.
The MMRDA recently issued a new tender for the procurement of 10 new rakes after it received a dull response for its first tender floated in 2019. The previous tender for procurement of rakes was scrapped after working for a year on the bidding process.
