Mumbai: Come November 29 Mumbaikars dream of smooth commuting will get a major boost with the laying of the foundation stone for India s first Monorail project at the metropolis.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Signh is likely to lay the foundation stone on November 29. The venue will be Mahatma Gandhi Ground in Chembur," said Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director (PR) of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA).

The 19.54-km-long monorail, which will connect south Mumbai to the eastern suburbs (Jacob Circle to Chembur via Wadala), is expected to be completed by May 2011, Kawathkar told PTI.

Malaysian-based Scomi Engineering in collaboration with Larsen Toubro will execute the Rs 2,4600-crore project.

"The route will have 18 stations and each train will have four bogies. During peak hours, around 10,000 to 15,000 passengers are expected to travel per hour. It will have an average speed of 80 km per hour.

"A car depot facility spread across eight hectares will come up at Wadala," Kawathkar said.

MMRDA has also cleared the proposal for a nine-km monorail connecting Banra-Kurla Complex and Bandra railway station in Central Mumbai in the second week of October.
Source : PTI