Mumbai:
Mumbai has become the first city in India to use a monorail. The major new addition to the city's public transport system that was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday was made available for public use today.
Here is your 10-point cheat-sheet to the Mumbai monorail:
Excited Mumbaikars queued up outside the stations since early morning to experience the ride. Some of them told NDTV they were waiting since 4 am. The first monorail journey was scheduled to begin at 7 am.
"I came in at 4 am but saw many others had already gathered at the station. As soon as the gates opened for public entry, I rushed and managed to be the first one to get the ticket," an enthusiastic traveller told NDTV. (Watch: Mumbaikars queue up for first ride of monorail)
Commuters thronged the stations through the day. Huge crowds forced authorities to pull down station shutter earlier than scheduled.
The part of the monorail that has opened today is 8.93 km long. It will run between Wadala and Chembur in the eastern fringes of Mumbai and will halt at seven stations - Wadala, Bhakti Park, Mysore Colony, BPCL, Fertiliser Township, VNP-RC Marg Junction and Chembur.
To start with, the monorail will run every 15 minutes between 7 am and 3 pm. At its fastest, it will run at 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph); the average speed is set at 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph).
The monorail will be linked to major local train stations. So the station at Chembur is connected with a skywalk to the monorail station near it.
When the entire monorail project is completed, it will be 20 km long and connect Jacob Circle in south Mumbai to Chembur in eastern Mumbai.
All coaches of the monorail trains are air-conditioned; each train can carry 560 passengers. Tickets are priced between Rs. 5 and Rs. 11.
There will be no monthly passes like the ones on Mumbai's lifeline, the local trains, but there will be a system of smart cards.
Construction began in 2009; the project is running over two years behind schedule.
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