NEW DELHI: After the huge success of Metro in Delhi, the capital is set to get a monorail service. An in-principle approval for setting up the monorail was given on Tuesday in a high-level meeting chaired by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
A presentation made by the Rail India Transit and Economic Services (RITES) team of experts was impressive enough to earn a quick approval of the project. It would augment connectivity between existing Metro rail line - from Shastri Park to Trilokpuri - in East Delhi. The route length of the proposed monorail will be 10.8 km and consist of 12 stations.
“A detailed note will be discussed in a Cabinet meeting to give the monorail proposal a formal approval. The monorail will have stations on nine-metre high pillars. The service has also been recommended as a mass rapid transit system in the master plan for Delhi, 2021. The work on the project will start after all essential formalities are completed,” Dikshit said.
Setting up monorail consumes less space and the construction cost is less than the Metro. Hence, the project is feasible for providing connectivity in even the most congested areas of Delhi where Metro and even buses are difficult to ply.
The proposed monorail for Delhi is expected to have a daily ridership of 1.5 lakh. It will integrate three metro lines - Shastri Park Metro Station in Dilshad Garden to Rithala line, Nirman Vihar Metro Station in Anand Vihar to Dwarka line and Trilokpuri Metro Station in Mukundpur to Yamuna Vihar under construction line. It will also provide interchange facility.