Mumbai’s Monorail services expected to resume in 10-15 days

3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jun 17, 2026 10:19 PM IST

The freshly opened monorail will now have interconnectivity with the Mahalaxmi station on the Metro Line 3 and the Mahalaxmi railway station. (File Photo)

Nine months after it was closed temporarily, Mumbai’s monorail services are expected to resume within the next two weeks. On Tuesday, the Maharashtra government’s Urban Development department gave its final go-ahead to the 19.54 km line stretching between Mahalaxmi and Jacob’s Circle.

With painting and interior finishing works on the stations in their final leg, officials said it would take another 10-15 days till inauguration, possibly stretching the reopening date to July.

When the monorail restarts with the 10 new rakes supplied by the Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives, the wait time between two trains will be 15 minutes.

Before the operations were paused in September 2025, wait times stretched to 20 to 25 minutes in peak times as the rakes ran into repeated technical faults. At times, the headway exceeded 45 minutes.

Yet, despite plans to integrate the old rakes into the new CBTC signaling system to further reduce headways further, it has not been done yet.

Sources said this integration requires imported parts, prolonging the process.

The freshly opened monorail will now have interconnectivity with the Mahalaxmi station on the Metro Line 3 and the Mahalaxmi railway station, with part of the distance covered by a travellator skywalk being constructed.

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The inauguration will also see the simultaneous opening of the Chembur station on the Metro Line 2B, bridging the gap to the eastern suburbs till Mandale.

Fares on the monorail, however, might see an increase on reopening.

Sources in the MMMOCL said a proposal has been sent to the Maharashtra government, either to increase the fares to match those of the Metro Line 1 and 3, or to reduce the fares of the Metro lines to match those of the monorail.

Previous fares on the light rail ranged from Rs 10 for 3km to Rs 40 for the entire 19.54km stretch.

The proposed cost revision would increase the cost of travelling on the entire stretch of the monorail to Rs 70. Officials said the higher fares would aid, although not completely, in offsetting the cost of the new rakes procured at Rs 590 crore and operations and maintenance at almost Rs 300 crore.

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In 2025, the monorail saw repeated incidents that temporarily put rakes out of service. One of the main reasons for the issues was overcrowding, exceeding the weight capacity of 104 tonnes.

Incidentally, the overcrowding incidents struck when commuters fell back on the monorail during heavy rains, when other modes of travel were not as accessible. While the capacity of the new rakes is the same, senior officials from the MMMOCL said a new SOP is being put in place to prevent incidents of overcrowding.

“Staff on ground will be monitoring entry into the stations and restricting it based on the capacity of the rakes, concourse and stations, ensuring overcapacity doesn’t occur,” said an official from the MMMOCL.

He added, “We are also thinking of putting in an alarm system that alerts people to step out when the rake is near full capacity. Awareness to commuters and staff will also be done.”

Sabah Virani is a journalist with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau, covering infrastructure, housing and urban issues. In the realms of technical fields, she brings out human stories and the pace of change ongoing in the city.

Expertise

Specialised Role: Tracking infrastructure in Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Sabah’s reporting tracks progress on various projects. From bridges to metros, she mixes technical details with resourceful information.

Core coverage areas: Sabah keeps a close eye on the activities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and its projects across the MMR, including the metros, road projects, bridges, the bullet train, pod taxi, its role as a planning authority, and more. She also watches for developments from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) and the GoM’s Urban Development department.

Housing: Sabah also tracks developments in housing, particularly the workings of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). She also keeps a keen watch on the big redevelopment projects ongoing in Mumbai, including the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, Motilal Nagar, Kamathipura, BDD Chawl redevelopment, among others.

Occasionally, she reports on the environment, biodiversity, waste, arts and culture.

Experience: Prior to working for the Indian Express, Sabah covered the municipality, civic issues and miscellaneous for Hindustan Times. Before that, she covered all things Mumbai for the online publication Citizen Matters. She has also worked as an editorial assistant at FiftyTwo.in.

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