It’s a simple question. How does the monorail switch tracks? We’ve seen regular trains and the metro switching tracks. But it’s a bit difficult with the monorail right? Especially given that the train traverses along a straddle beam?
Well, the answer is simple, truth be told. The entire straddle beam moves.
Don’t believe me? Watch this video:
If you look at the switch tracks on Google Earth, you’ll notice these are sections with a concrete platform below the beams.
Here are two such images. You can see that where the Switch track is present, the straddle beam is resting on concrete and the blue control sheds that you see in the video above, are also visible.
In the picture above, you can see the tracks aligned straight. In the pictures below, you can see the tracks aligned differently.
So how exactly does this work?
The straddle beam for the switch is mounted on a set of wheels that are perpendicular to the beam itself. These wheels move from on side of the viaduct to the other side but to varying lengths, thus forming the curve that you see.
Below is another example of how the switch happens, this time from the Osaka Monorail in Osaka, Japan.
Fascinating, isn’t it, how a monorail switches tracks?
Well, that’s all from me for this time. Hope you enjoyed this post. Once normalcy returns, I’ll try and get a good video of the monorail switching tracks.
Featured Image: Mumbai Monorail by Ashwin Kumar on Flickr.
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 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.
