Monorail proposal should be reviewed, says Velu

Observing that the proposed monorail system was not suitable for Chennai, Union minister of state for railways R Velu today requested the Tamil Nadu government to review it and instead go for a metro rail.

Stating that the monorail was neither technically nor financially feasible, he told reporters here that "I do not know whether any techno-feasibility report has been there or whether it was placed before the public for their comments."

Velu said as per the 10th Plan document, for a population of five million people and above, "you have to necessarily have a metro-rail system and not monorail."

Monorail could be operated only for short distances and not the distance being planned in Chennai, he said, adding the government's monorail mass rapid transit system (MMRTS) proposes to run across 490-km in the city.

Also, monorails could be operated at a maximum speed of 25-km only, he said.

"It (monorail) cannot carry 10,000-15,000 passengers per hour per direction but a metro rail can carry three times this number," he said.

Even the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has said monorail was not suitable for long distance. Monorail system might be good for countries like Japan, Malaysia or Singapore. "It is meant for amusement parks and airports," he said.