3. Concept
MONORAIL : A single rail serving as a track for
passenger or freight vehicles. In most cases rail
is elevated, but monorails can also run at grade,
below grade or in subway tunnels. Vehicles are
either suspended from or straddle a narrow
guideway. Monorail vehicles are WIDER than
the guideway that supports them.
- The Monorail Society
4. Monorail Technology
• Monorails use a large horizontal beam as their
running surface
– The cars can be on top (straddle type) or
underneath (suspended)
• Propulsion is by electric motors, powered by a
third rail.
• Monorails mostly use rubber tyres and hence are
very silent
• Cars can be driver-operated or automatic
• Typical Right-of-Way is needed only for the piers
which support the track beams
• Stations are compact and have escalator & lift
access
• Construction is very quick as most of the
components are pre-fabricated and simply
erected on site
• Typical train capacities – 30 to 200 passengers
5. Similar Transit Formats
• Metro Rail (Heavy Rail): Standard
gauge rails are used on either
elevated, surface or underground
routes. They have high frequency
and high capacity, but are very
expensive.
• Light Rail: Similar to Metro rail,
but usually has lighter vehicles,
lower frequency and capacity.
They may be separate from other
traffic or may intermingle (eg:
trams)
6. Why Monorail? Comparison of Formats
Transit Type Metro Rail Light Rail Monorail
Cost Highest Medium Medium
Right-of-way required Greatest Medium Least
Disturbance during
High Medium Low
construction
Derailment Collision
Safety Safest
hazard hazard
Efficiency High Medium Highest
High (10,000
Capacity Very High Medium
passengers/hr)
7. Advantages of Monorail
• Monorails are economical; they cost only about Rs 100
Crore/Km.
– They will be affordable to most passengers
– They will break even quickly and will need no Govt. subsidy
• Monorails do not need much land
– They can even be built on road medians
– Stations are also small and can be built along roads or even
within large buildings
• Monorails require minimal construction
– Most of the structure is pre-fabricated and hence can be erected
quickly with minimal disruption
• Monorails are Quiet, Efficient, Safe and Green
• Already in operation in cities like Las Vegas, Tokyo,
Shanghai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney etc
8. How Monorail suits Trivandrum?
• The monorail will be an affordable choice for a city of 1.5
million like Trivandrum
– Metro Rail is suited for cities with populations of at least 4
million, according to DMRC
– It has the kind of capacity likely to be needed in Trivandrum in
the next 10-15 years
– Affordable both to the public and to the Government
• Land acquisition is a major obstacle in Kerala and
monorail requires minimal land
• Minimal disruption during construction
• Monorail is grade-separated from road traffic and will be
immune from congestion
• Minimal aesthetic impact in beautiful Trivandrum
9. Key Benefits of Monorail
• A very convenient travel facility for the public
– Able to travel 15 Kms at 100 Km/Hr in air-conditioned comfort
– Affordable; likely to be competitive with buses
• Reduction of congestion on roads
– Key routes like M.G.Road, NH-47 Bypass etc
• Environmentally friendly
– Efficient energy use
– Minimises fossil fuel vehicles by encouraging mass transit
– Does not need land and is pollution free
• Key necessity for massive business hubs like Technocity
• Can serve as a USP for the city
• Boost commerce by making it easy for consumers to
travel to shop
10. Market Study – Potential Routes
• The monorail system is to be progressively rolled out
along routes which have:
– High and Frequent traffic
– Potential terminal points are not too far apart
– Comparatively high density of potential users
– Existing wide right-of-ways (RoWs)
• The ideal choice is to connect business hubs and
residential areas amongst each other
• Existing wide RoWs are available along the M.G. Road,
select CRIP roads and the NH-47 Bypass
• Transport hubs like railway stations, bus terminals and
the Airport will also provide traffic
11. Market Study Potential Hubs
Technopark (Phases I,II & III):
• 21,000 employees and 3.5 million sq.ft at present
• Campuses by Infosys, TCS, UST Global, Tata
Elxsi, IBS under construction
• 30,000 employees by end-2009
• 45,000 employees by 2010-11
• Traffic of 8-10,000/hr by 2010 and 15000 by 2011
Technocity:
• Ultimately >12 million sq.ft. of IT space and
100,000 IT professionals
• More than 50,000 dependents
• 6 Km from Technopark Phase I
• 20,000 employees by 2011, 50,000 by 2014,
70,000 by 2016 and 100,000 by 2018
• Traffic starting at 10,000/hr in 2011 and up to
20,000/hr in 2018
12. Market Study Potential Hubs
Aakulam Cluster
• International Convention Center Complex
• 4 – 5 five-star hotels and three malls
• Two tertiary care hospitals
• Southern Air Command
• Kochuveli Railway Station
• VSSC
• Around 5000 residential units
Trivandrum International Airport
• Currently handles 2.5 million passengers/year
• Massive expansion underway
• By end-2009, traffic would be 3 million passengers
(pax)/year
• By 2011, traffic would be around 4.5 million pax /yr
• Route traffic of 5000 passengers/day in 2011
13. Market Study Potential Hubs
Railway and Bus Terminals
• Trivandrum Central is the second busiest station in
South India after Chennai Central
• 50 trains/day and 40,000 passengers
• Both Trivandrum Central and Central Bus Terminal
set to undergo major expansion
• Bus Terminal sees extensive traffic from eastern
and southern parts of the district and Southern
Tamilnadu
Central Business District
• Consists of M.G. Road from PMG Junction to East
Fort
• Government Secretariat, Legislative Assembly, all
major Govt. offices and banks
• Shopping clusters like Palayam, East Fort, Chalai
etc
• Current commuter traffic of approx. 25,000/day
• Major road congestion due to many reasons
14. Market Study Potential Hubs
Vizhinjam Deep-sea Port/Kovalam
• India’s deepest port and its associated
developments are likely to employ 20,000 people
by 2015
• Kovalam – Poovar is Kerala’s busiest tourist spot
• > 1 million tourists/year
• Gateway to Southern Tamilnadu
Trivandrum International Airport
• Currently handles 2.5 million passengers/year
• Massive expansion underway
• By end-2009, traffic would be 3 million passengers
(pax)/year
• By 2011, traffic would be around 4.5 million pax /yr
• Route traffic of 5000 passengers/day in 2011
16. Project Plan Suggested Routes
Technocity
Commercial Hub
Residential Area
Technopark
Aakulam Cluster
CBD
Airport Railway/Bus Terminal
Phase I - 2010
Phase II - 2012
Phase III - 2015
Phase IV - 2015
Vizhinjam/Kovalam
17. Project Plan Suggested Route Details
Phase I II III IV
Length (Km) 12 6 14 ~ 10
Vikas
Vikas Technopark Bhavan to
Thampanoor
Terminals Bhavan to to various
to Vizhinjam
Technopark Technocity Residential
clusters
Start Date June 2010 Jan 2012 June 2015 Dec 2015
End-date Dec 2012 June 2013 June 2017 Jan 2020
Peak Traffic (pax/hr) 30,000 20,000 10,000 15,000
Cost (Rs. Crores) 1200 700 1600 1500
18. Project Strategy
• Phased roll-out as routes become viable
• Independent agency – Trivandrum Metropolitan Transport Authority
• Financing
– BOT route
– Central/donor aid such as JNNURM/WB
– Through issue of equity to public and financial institutions
– Debt
• Use of existing RoWs of adequate width
– M.G.Road
– NH-47
• Use of Govt. land for terminals and stations as much as possible
– Vikas Bhavan, Thampanoor, Airport, Technopark & Technocity
• Integration with existing city bus network, proposed suburban rail
and BRTS systems
• Integration with multi-level parking facilities to allow commuters to
park their cars for the day
19. Project Timeline Key Next Steps
• Initial Feasibility Study by Consultant – December 2008
• Creation of Implementing Agency – May 2009
• Detailed Project Report – September 2009
• Land Acquisition – November 2009
• Tendering process for BOT operator – December 2009
• Start of work on Phase I – June 2010
20. Thank You
Contact: Ajay Prasad
Trivandrum Development Front
Phone: +91-9995889434
Email: ajaypp@gmail.com
