MMRDA shelves plan for 2nd monorail corridor.

At a time when many other Indian cities are firming up their plans to introduce monorail, Mumbai's development authority has scrapped the plan for its second monorail corridor- from Thane to Kalyan and Bhiwandi. The country’s first monorail - on Mumbai’s Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle route - was inaugurated this month.

The MMRDA has shelved the project citing low ridership estimates and availability of cheaper road transport alternatives.

The development authority had planned a monorail network from Thane to Kalyan and another arm from Thane to Bhiwandi to serve as a feeder system to a Metro project planned in Thane. The MMRDA is going ahead with the Metro corridor from Wadala to Kasarvadavali on Ghodbunder Road in Thane.

U P S Madan, Metropolitan Commissioner at the MMRDA, said: 'Having a monorail to connect to the Wadala-Kasarvadavali Metro was the original plan, but it was not found to be feasible. There was not enough ridership on the corridor and we found that a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) would be a more effective and cheaper option there.'

The Indian Express