Mumbai: The second and most awaited phase of the monorail, from Wadala to Jacob Circle, is all set to begin from Sunday with fare hikes to be declared on Saturday. Chief minister Devendra Fadanvis will inaugurate the second phase of the monorail.

The phase of Monorail, which faced several hurdles and was revised eight times will begin on Sunday. “The second phase has been scheduled to start from Sunday evening at 6 pm.” said senior official from Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).  

The MMRDA officials said that invitations for the inauguration have been sent for printing. The chief minister is expected to flag off the second phase from the Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk station. The monorail second phase corridor is 19.5 kilometer long and the project cost was Rs 3000 crore. This corridor from Wadala to Jacob Circle will make the entire corridor operational, which is from Chembur-Wadala-Jacob circle. The trial runs for the second phase were conducted in past few days.

The MMRDA had taken over the project from the contractor, to whom it was initially assigned, after serving a show cause notice for not completing the project on time. In December 2018, the MMRDA took charge of the project. Due to this, the contractor company had taken objection on the MMRDA taking containers carrying spare parts. Two containers containing 112 spare parts of worth Rs 3 crore had arrived in Mumbai in the month of January. However, the containers faced obstacles to reach Wadala depot as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) officials were not releasing it. After intervention from the MMRDA authorities, the spare parts were released and the speedy work for the second phase began.  

With the second phase of monorail being functional, the MMRDA officials expect an increase in the number of commuters. They are expecting nearly 1 lakh commuters on both lines within a year.  

The MMRDA officials have also prepared a revised ticket price. The new charges will be applicable from Sunday morning. “The MMRDA may declare revised rates on Saturday,” said a MMRDA official.