RailEnquiry

On the morning of Wednesday, Maharashtra Day, a Metro train left Versova for Azad Nagar 3 km away. The distance was short, which is pardonable considering that this was a trial run-and a mighty successful one at that. Sleek on the outside, roomy, comfortable and cool on the inside, the train ride was a quite, smooth affair-unlike anything the city has seen before. Naturally, the question arose that whether the Monorail will match up. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who flagged off the train, appeared satisfied. An official said on the occasion that Metro coaches were a lot more spacious and, thus, efficient than Monorail coaches. It provoked a counterview: "You cannot compare," a senior MMRDA official told TOI later. "There is a basic difference. The Monorail is built to operate in congested areas and acts as a feeder service for bigger transport facilities. This is the practice worldwide. The Metro rail, on the other hand, is a prime mode of mass transport."

Comparisons arose because Monorail trial runs were conducted recently, and in the presence of many of the same officials and experts present at the Metro run on Wednesday. "Of course there are difference. A Metro train can carry many more passengers as the coaches are much bigger. Then, it can move smoothly even at high speed because it is a rail system, unlike the Monorail, where rakes have rubber tyres. Also, Metro trains have stronger air-conditioning," said an official.

Some of those present have had the experience of travelling in the Delhi Metro and said the coaches are exact replicas. "A great experience overall," said one.

A source said the Monorail can pack in only around 600 passengers in four coaches, compared to the Metro's capacity of around 1,100. The Metro has cost more than Monorail-compared to the Metro project's cost of Rs3,856 crore (original estimate of Rs2,356 crore and escalation of Rs1,500 crore due to delays), Monorail's cost has been nearly Rs2,800 crore.