India's first 4-car monorail test-run in Malaysia
21 Jun 2010
Mumbai: India's first four-car train set for the Mumbai monorail project was previewed and inaugurated today by Ratnakar Gaikwad, Metropolitan Commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority on behalf of Maharashtra chief minister at Scomi Group's manufacturing facility in North Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Scomi, a leading provider of urban transit systems across the globe is currently working on the first Indian monorail in Mumbai. The Mumbai monorail project, which is expected to be completed by 2011, is a 20-kilometer route between Jacob Circle in centarl Mumbai and north central suburb of Chembur, with one central depot and about 18 stations.
Each monorail, which comprises four coaches, will have a capacity to accommodate about 600 passengers. MMRDA expects nearly 300,00commuters on a daily basis in the proposed route.
The Mumbai Monorail is said to be a green project, as it saves 200 tonnes of CO2 and does not obstruct much sunlight and does not trap excessive emission. Moreover, it is said to be quieter than other modes of transportation.
"With the creditable work being done by the Scomi and Larsen & Tourbo consortium, we look forward to beginning operations of the Mumbai Monorail by mid-next year," said Gaikwad at the inauguration of the first four-car monorail for India."It has been MMRDA's long-term goal to provide world-class infrastructure to Mumbaikars. We are confident that the Mumbai Monorail Project will complement Mumbaikars' commute by giving them a comfortable and safe mode of transportation.''
Syahrunizam Samsudin, president of Scomi Engineering said, ''After the successful trial-run of the first monorail car in Mumbai early this year, we have been steadily working towards meeting the project deadline set by our client MMRDA.
Scomi plans to complete and dispatch one train every month starting from July 2010 from our manufacturing facility in Malaysia. We will ensure that by early 2011, all the 15 trains for the Mumbai Monorail project shall be ready in Mumbai to begin trial runs before operations commence."
