THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If everything goes as per the dreams of our rulers, there is high chance of you landing up in a confusion soon on whether to board the air-conditioned Volvo bus or to take the monorail route to reach Technopark from Thampanoor. To complement another fleet of AC and non-AC Volvo buses for city travel that will land here in a few weeks, the Government is seriously planning to introduce monorail traffic system in the capital. An ambitious project to connect Kazhakkoottam and Balaramapuram via Medical College, Thampanoor, Karamana and Pappanamcode has already been visualised by the UDF Government.Top sources in the Government told ‘City Express’ that a blueprint for the proposal will be discussed by the State Cabinet on Wednesday. ‘’The suggestion is to conduct a preliminary study on the feasibility of the project,’’ said a source. If cleared by the Cabinet, the feasibility study will be conducted soon after. ‘’It will take only two to three years to complete the entire stretch as land acquisition will be minimum,’’ said the source. Monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and guideway. The rail will be erected on a track upon the medians that bifurcate the main road. Land acquisition will be minimum as only junctions need to be widened to accommodate the passage.It is learnt that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has shown particular interest in the project and directed the officials concerned to move papers at a fast phase.The recent decision of the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu to introduce a monorail system to connect 300 km in Chennai might have prompted the CM to think along those lines. The TN government also has plans to implement monorail in Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy. India’s first monorail is being constructed in Mumbai and is all set to be opened for traffic by December, this year. When completed, this will be the second largest monorail system in the world. The proposal for the city monorail is timely as the road-widening work between Karamana and Kaliyikavila has just begun. The proposed 30.2-metre-wide road will have ample space to accommodate a median, which can host the monorail. If cleared soon, road upgradation and monorail laying can be simultaneously completed, thus saving a lot of money and time, in addition to preventing inconvenience to local people and passengers. ABC of Monorail Wikipedia defines monorail as a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and guideway.* The first monorail was made in Russia in 1820 by Ivan Elmanov. Attempts at creating monorail alternatives to conventional railways have been made since the early part of the 19th century. The earliest patent was taken out by Henry Palmer in the UK in 1821, and the design was employed at Deptford Dockyard in South-East London and a short line for moving stone from a quarry near Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, to the River Lea. The Cheshunt line is notable as it was the world’s first monorail to carry passengers.* However, monorail emerged as a panacea for all traffic woes in the 1980s. Japan and Malaysia have used the system most effectively and became pioneers. Tokyo Monorail, the world’s busiest monorail line, averages 127,000 passengers per day and has served over 1.5 billion passengers since 1964.* India’s first monorail was test-driven in Mumbai on Republic Day, last year. The 100-metre stretch between Wadala and Bhakti Park Complex was covered. The first phase of Mumbai monorail will be commissioned in December, this year.
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