Monorail services to be introduced in Bengal soon

Kolkata: Monorail services are expected to be introduced in the state soon, as an alternative means of clean and green mechanised urban transportation.

"We have started talks with the West Bengal government to set up Monorail in the state. The government is keen to introduce it, but the MoU has not been signed. The Monorail will run between Sealdah and Titagarh," said Yatish Kumar, chairman and managing director of Braithwaite and Company Limited (a Government of India Undertaking), Ministry of Railways, on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Alternative Means of Clean and Green Mechanised Urban Transportation' held at a city hotel on Friday. Sanjiv Mhtere, General Manager (Mechanical), Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Limited, was also present on the occasion.

Kumar reiterated that three or four agencies have been roped in to carry out the project. "My role will be to maintain it," he pointed out.

It might be mentioned that the entire 19.5 kilometre stretch of the Monorail route in Mumbai, the country's first Monorail system, was made fully operational for the public in March 2019, even though the first 8 km of the route got commissioned in 2014.

The public transport has managed to fetch nearly Rs 7.18 crore of revenue and marked a ridership of 48.84 lakh in 2019.

The whole project was implemented by the Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). It had started in 2008 but has been mired in numerous management and operational delays.

According to MMRDA, the Monorail operates daily from 6 am to 10 pm, with a 22-minute gap between two trains and reduces travel time from 90 to 30 minutes.