With the formal launch of commercial operations (albeit with a lot of technical snags) of the Red and Yellow lines (Line 2A and Line 7) of Mumbai Metro on Gudi Padwa this week, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) also set up a few new bus shelters outside the metro stations.
These new bus shelters feature a map of the two metro lines in question, feature space for wheelchair-users and interestingly, have the bus routes marked on the road surface as well.
New bus shelter at Virvani Estate near Aarey Metro Station (Anand/@aa_G7460 on Twitter)
According to the images and the description of the bus stop (written on the bus stop itself), they feature USB ports for charging phones, CCTV cameras, and are dedicated to Divyang users. The bus shelter itself has been designed by an agency called Aaartist, which has designed signboards for several railway stations and other prominent properties around Maharashtra.
Road Marking at Virvani Estate Bus Stop (Anand/@aa_G7460 on Twitter)
As you can see in the above two images, bus routes have been marked on the side of the road. Oddly, while Limited Stop routes (226, 460 and 706) have been marked in red, the AC (A-488) and Express (C-15, C71, C-72) routes remain marked in black along with the sole regular route (225). Now, at the bus stop itself, there are purple line markings on the floor that correspond to the dotted line that separates each route in the second line. Clearly, this is meant to be a queue management system, which says रांगेत चला, Crowd Management System, Mind Set.
Let’s hope that buses follow this demarcation when it comes to stopping. We’ve all seen how Pune’s BRTS drivers initially struggled to stop the bus at the exact stop for the doors to open.
Let’s hope for better bus stops in the future. In the mean time, do read this: Building a Smart Bus Stop.
Featured Image: Aarey Metro Station by Gandharva Purohit.
If you are stepping out, do note that while masks are no longer mandatory, the new XE variant of the Wuhan Virus is making the rounds. Stay safe, better safe than sorry.
Whenever we take a ride on an intra-city rail line, we’re bound to see the line’s carshed or depot somewhere. If you take the Western Line, you might see the car shed at Mumbai Central or Kandivali, and on the Central Line at Kurla. If you take the Mumbai Metro, you’ll see its depot at Four Bungalows, and if you take the Monorail, you’ll see it at Wadala. There’s a high likelihood that saying Wadala Depot might confuse a lot of people. For it might be referring to BEST’s Wadala Depot that is located at Wadala (West) and is closer to Dadar, or BEST’s Anik and Pratiksha Nagar Depots that are located in Wadala East near the Salt Pans. Or, it could refer to the Monorail Depot.
So, without much further ado, here is the picture of the Monorail Depot:
This amazing drone shot has been taken by a drone-based media agency called BrainWing India. Don’t forget to follow them on Instagram: @brainwing_india.
Apart from the Monorail Depot, you can also see the Lodha New Cuffe Parade apartment complex behind it.
It is important to note that the Monorail depot only houses the first building with a wavy blue roof behind the station and the blue building behind that.
So what are all the other blue sheds and structures in the vicinity? Most of them are casting yards used by various contractors for the Mumbai Metro project.
The first one, at the top left-hand-side corner where the monorail track curves is a casting yard for tunnel rings for Mumbai Metro Line 3 operated by Turkey-based Doğuş and its Hyderabad-based partner Soma. The large blue shed next to the Monorail Depot is used by Tata Projects for the same. L&T and Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) use casting yards at the far end of this picture for casting tunnel rings.
Immediately next to the depot is the Nagarjuna Construction Company’s (NCC) casting yard for casting U-girders for the Metro’s Line 7 and next to it is the casting yard for J Kumar and on top of the that is the casting yard that Simplex used to use for Line 2.
For a better reference, see this tweet by Sahil Pednekar.
The monorail makes for a gorgeous sight from above, no?
That’s all from me for today. Don’t forget to follow BrainWing on Instagram. Don’t forget to share this post as well.
Featured Image: Mumbai Monorail Depot by Ashwin Kumar on Flickr.
In December last year when Maharashtra saw a political coup, resulting in a mix-and-match coalition government coming to power, the newly throned chief minister announced plans to build a grand, “world-class” multi-level aquarium. Just over six months later with Cyclone Nisarga having crossed the city, here are some stunning visuals of the new aquarium.
Without wasting time, the government run by the Best CM (not BEST CM) has gone ahead and quietly implemented the aquarium at King’s Circle near Matunga. Below are some pictures from news agencies Asian News International (ANI) and Free Press Journal (FPJ). You can click on the indiviudal images to see more.
While the fish are not immediately visible due to vehicles, they will slowly find their way, along with other creatures including worms, snakes, prawns and shrimp (after being washed from markets). The largest creature currently in these waters is BEST’s Aqua Faeries; as seen in the above pictures (not to be confused with the earlier Purple Faeries).
Apart from this, the government has also implemented a new waterfall system in the city, although it is linked with the sewerage system. You can catch it in action here:
Ever since the 2005 floods, political parties in Maharashtra have promised to turn the city into Singapore or Shanghai. Sadly, this year, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Mumbai became Wuhan while Maharashtra became Hubei. However, on a regular basis, the city turns into Venice every year during the monsoons.
Mumbaikars have got their aquarium. Now, let’s wait for the metro.
In a stunning revelation, it has been revealed that the current Maharashtra government may consider running buses in the tunnels of Mumbai Metro’s famed Line 3 project.
Without the controversial SEEPZ depot, the metro cannot be operational since it won’t have a place to park trains and carry out their maintenance. In order to sort this mess out, the government has decided that they will run BEST buses in the pair of 33.5km long tunnels.
Confirming the developments, an official on the condition of anonymity said that BEST had already been running buses in tunnels for almost a decade and this would be nothing new. “We’ve run buses on the Eastern Freeway, they’ve taken the flyover and the tunnels, what is new?”, he said.
He added that while initial proposals involve letting buses drive into the tunnels at the Sariput Nagar ramp in Jogeshwari, there are plans to set up additional ones at Bandra-Kurla Complex and the Airport as well. The government may also set up a crane to lower the bus into the tunnel so buses need not run only in them, he added. The plan is apparently to run the mini-bus fleet in the tunnel, from what we gathered.
When asked, where the idea came from, he directed the questions to another officer, who on the condition of anonymity as well, gave us an answer. “With everything operating at half capacity right now, some of us looked for other ways to spend our time. I opened Google Earth to see the Attari-Wagah border and then continued on that road to Lahore where I saw a BRTS on a flyover. We then went for lunch, and when I came back, one of my colleagues showed me Elon Musk’s Boring Company”, he said.
You see, Lahore BRTS has a long elevated stretch. If they run a bus on that, why can’t we run a bus in our metro tunnels? We’ve run buses inside the tunnel on the Eastern Freeway?
The officer
When asked about the inspiration from Elon Musk, he said that Musk’s plan was the first to have tunnels under a city and run regular vehicles in them. When pointed out that Musk had a change of heart in 2018 and decided to allow public transport through the system, he responded with “That’s why we’re planning on running buses in them”.
When asked about what would happen about the 31 trains ordered from Alstom, we were told “Jab aaega, tab dekha jaega” (We’ll see about it when they arrive). A third official even dropped a comment that they may be sold to the Mumbai Suburban Rail. We don’t know if he realises that they run on different track gauges.
Whatever, happens, let us hope that Mumbai finally gets the public transport it deserves.
Note: To know how a crane would be used to lift a bus in and out, see this video on how a crane is being used to lift a tractor off the metro viaduct.
In 1993, an episode of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons spoke of how the town of Springfield, flush with money decided to go in for a Monorail only for it to end in disaster due to shoddy work and cutting corners.
A quarter century later, Mumbai seems to be on the same
path. The 19.5 km long Monorail carries less than 50,000 daily passengers after
burning ₹3,000 crore, a very sad number, especially in comparison to the
existing line of the Mumbai Metro that ferries nearly 500,000 passengers daily
across 10.8km.
While there are several reasons behind the low patronage,
there is a common link between all of them – the rolling stock supplied by Scomi.
To give a quick recap; operations on the Monorail began in
early 2014 across a 9km stretch with four trains of four coaches each. A fire
in November 2017 caused the entire system to remain shut till September 2018
following which it reopened. Subsequently, the rest of the line opened in early
2019, exactly five years after the line first opened. However, the remaining of
ten trains never arrived due to financial troubles that the Malaysian
manufacturer is facing. Consequently, MMRDA cancelled the tender in late 2018
and began the process of retendering. As a result, the frequency of services on
the corridor is abysmal. Trains from Chembur to Wadala depart with a gap of 45
minutes.
The Monorail was initially operated by a joint venture
between Scomi and L&T – who built the infrastructure – which was cancelled
eventually. The MMRDA now plans to operate the line under the newly formed
Mumbai Metro Operations Corporation (MMOCL) that will operate the upcoming
elevated metro system. It had opened tenders for operations as well, receiving
only one bid from Reliance Infra that currently operates the Metro. As a result
of this, Mumbai today faces the prospect of staring at a major white elephant
in the form of the Monorail.
Unlike Metro rail, Monorails are relatively more proprietary
in nature, and not too standardised. Thus, it is difficult to get trains
manufactured by other manufacturers to work on an existing system. For
instance, Bombardier’s monorail trainsets feature a different straddle width
that makes it completely inoperable in Mumbai. Hitachi meanwhile has three
models, one of which has the same dimensions as the Scomi SUTRA currently
operational. MMRDA’s tender received only two bids – China’s CRRC Changchun
Vehicles that supplied rolling stock to the Chongqing Monorail and again,
China’s BYD whose BYD Skyrail that is yet to be operational anywhere. BYD
currently is the world’s largest electric bus manufacturer, with a significant
presence in India through a joint venture with Hyderabad-based Olcetra (formerly
Goldstone).
What might be a stumbling block right now is the Union Urban
Development Ministry’s Make In India norms that mandate that 75 per cent of
coaches for metro rail be sourced domestically. While it is unclear if these
norms will extend to monorail technology, it would be better for the MMRDA to
find a workaround. While CRRC was looking to set up a manufacturing unit in
Maharashtra to supply trains to Nagpur, BYD already has a local partner in
Olectra, through which the trains could be manufactured. Another route that
could be looked at is through the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation
(Mahametro) that recently gave an order for metro trains to Titagarh Firema, an
Italian subsidiary of Titagarh Wagons. While Titagarh Firema would manufacture
25 per cent of the trains at the Firema plant in Italy, the rest would be made
in Nagpur, at Mahametro’s facility before making their way to Pune. MMRDA could
tie up with Mahametro and have either of the two firms build it domestically.
As far as operations as concerned, the MMRDA should look to MMOCL – which will eventually take over operations – for support. MMOCL has already dispatched a team of engineers to Singapore to have them trained in metro operations. A second plan to augment this with training in Hong Kong was cancelled due to the ongoing protests. Along with this, the corporation has also called for tenders for private operators to operate the upcoming systems, much like how Reliance Infra has subcontracted operations of the Metro. MMOCL could perhaps send a team of engineers to China or Japan to train them, or look at collaborative partnerships to get the system back on track.
Simultaneously, BEST needs to start with Feeder services to Monorail Stations. Monorail Stations, as with Metro Stations need to be treated on par with Railway Stations. While a significant crowd will prefer the rail due to its speed, some of it will prefer the bus due to lower costs. BEST needs to stand between the two.
Whatever the state government chooses to do, it needs to act fast. The Monorail in its current avatar has been avoided – by operators and commuters alike – and that is not good. It needs to be put back on track – literally and figuratively – and made into a viable rapid transit system, for it has the potential. The image that the Monorail currently has needs to be overhauled entirely and once this has been done, it could potentially be extended, and potential new lines could be built, in Mumbai or otherwise.
Back in 2014, BEST had launched a series of buses in and around Andheri (East) called Metro Pheri to serve as feeder routes to various stations along Line 1 of the Mumbai Metro. Unfortunately, they pretty much ran empty.
Mumbai Metro starts the BEST Pheri-1 via Marol Naka,Airport Road & Chakala Metro Stations!Now Travelling made easier! pic.twitter.com/0Z31MUaQYJ
Now, in what seems like a resurgent comeback for BEST, they have started a new route that would act as a feeder for the Metro, this time in the West.
BEST announced the launch of A-260 connecting Oshiwara Depot/Goregaon Depot with Indian Oil Nagar (D N Nagar Metro Station).
📢 NEW AC BUS ROUTE🚍 A-260 between Oshiwara Depot to Indian Oil Nagar(DN Ngr Metro Station) from today. Stops @ Green Park,Millat Ngr, Lokhandwala Jn.,Laxmi Industrial estate First bus : 7.00 hrs,Last bus: 22.00 hrs One more faster feeder AC bus service #mumbai#bestupdateshttps://t.co/jnPSfvZTkc
As mentioned above, the bus stops at Green Park, Millat Nagar, Lokhandwala Junction (Aai Tuljabhavai Chowk) and Lakshmi Industrial Estate. The odd thing is that the bus doesn’t stop at Monginis Cake Company/Citimall where A-235 (and formerly A-242) used to terminate and A-210 has a stop. The junction is also a major starting point for share autos heading for both Andheri Station and the DN Nagar Metro Station.
Along with this, the realignment of A-251 from Versova Yari Road Bus Station to Seven Bungalows Bus Station is also an additional step in providing feeder connectivity to the metro. However, BEST should have extended it to operate from Versova Yari Road to Andheri Station. One must remember at the end of the day that the earlier bus users briefly shifted to the metro when bus fares reached an all time high and have come back to buses. Those who earlier used share-autos have shifted to the Metro while the upper class regular auto and taxi users have not migrated. At least not yet.
On Twitter, I had earlier suggested a route from Veera Desai Road (Extension) to JVPD Bus Station which would act as feeders to both the Azad Nagar and DN Nagar Metro Stations.
A majority of BEST’s services are de facto feeder routes connecting to various railway stations. With the advent of the Metro, this needs to be expanded here as well. The core advantage the Metro has over the Suburban Rail is that because it is not at-grade (elevated or underground), the can start and end at two places that are not necessarily the metro station but intersect them.
BEST needs to do a lot more for the East. The Metro Pheri can perhaps be brought back to connect SEEPZ and MIDC with Chakala, JB Nagar, and Marol (Western Express Highway, Chakala – JB Nagar, Airport Road and Marol naka metro stations). Passengers headed to MIDC and SEEPZ from the Metro are otherwise left at the mercy of auto-rickshaws who for some reason refuse trips. While private players like Shuttl have begun services, mainly to service 91Springboard that has three hubs in the region, BEST needs to step in as well.
Along with this, BEST desperately needs a lot more of these non-stop AC minibuses in the East, primarily from Pinky Cinema (Agarkar Chowk) to Majas Depot. BEST could also experiment with a few of them from Airport Road metro to Terminal 2 and WEH metro/Chakala bus stop to Terminal 1 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).
Further, BEST also needs to provide a few services to Monorail stations. While the Mumbai Monorail itself has its own share of problems, all those are in MMRDA’s domain but connectivity to the monorail stations needs to be done.
Perhaps BEST can strike a deal with Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) for more connectivity?
Given BEST’s decision to cancel tenders earlier in December 2019, it seems we will have to wait for a while before things change. The 21-seater Force Motors’ Traveller Smart Citibus seems to be a good choice so far. But until then, let’s hope for the best. (Pun intended).
Featured Image: D. N. Nagar Metro Station (Superfast1111/Wikimedia Commons)
