In an effort to revive Mumbai’s long-troubled monorail, the Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Ltd (MMMOCL), a subsidiary of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), has announced plans to rope in a single private operator on a five-year contract to oversee operations and maintenance. The 20-km Chembur–Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Jacob Circle) corridor has battled technical glitches and repeated disruptions since its launch on February 2, 2014. The situation worsened after MMRDA cancelled its contract with the original operator, a consortium of Scomi Engineering and Larsen & Toubro, in December 2018.
Although new trains have been delivered, the system continues to falter. On July 28, only one train was running across the 19.54-km route, despite the monorail having access to eight older rakes and seven new ones. An eighth newly manufactured rake is due this month, with two more expected by November. However, the Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives supplied trains are still awaiting safety approvals to enter regular service. MMMOCL has floated a ₹300 crore tender covering operations and maintenance of the corridor, 17 stations, and the Wadala depot, restricting bids to single operators instead of joint ventures.
As part of its 2024 revival plan, MMMOCL aims to deploy 12 trains daily, consisting of eight refurbished rakes and 10 new ones, while maintaining two as standby and four for periodic maintenance. Originally, Scomi Engineering was supposed to provide 15 trains, but only 10 were delivered before contractual disputes disrupted the project. Presently, 142 daily services are planned between 5.48 am and 11 pm, with each train expected to cover nearly 350 km. However, due to inadequate rolling stock and frequent technical failures, the targets often remain unmet, leaving passengers with unreliable services.