Mumbai Monorail: India’s First, 7th Largest Worldwide

Mumbai has been long-accustomed to crowded local transport systems. In such a milieu, the monorail has emerged as an efficient mode of transportation, offering mobility in areas where traditional systems like Metro or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) struggle to reach. Its single-track design and lightweight structure enable it to navigate sharp turns and congested urban landscapes with ease.

The decision to introduce a roughly 20 km-long monorail corridor as a feeder service was made by MMRDA in 2007. This corridor included the Chembur-Wadala-Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk route.

What makes Mumbai’s monorail truly remarkable is its ingenious design that allows it to traverse spaces where traditional roads couldn’t expand. In 2014, it held the distinction of being the world’s second-longest monorail corridor, second only to Japan’s Osaka Monorail Main Line, which exceeded 21 km in length.

The monorail offered a significant advantage over local trains in terms of comfort, ticket pricing and frequency. However, issues related to journey duration and station locations hindered its popularity. Nevertheless, this rapid transit system continues to provide safe, premium and convenient travel experiences to citizens.

The monorail operates from 7am to 3 pm, with trains arriving every 15 minutes, each accommodating up to 568 passengers in its four coaches. In early 2023 the  monorail experienced resurgence in ridership, prompting MMRDA to order 10 new rakes on the existing route.