First monorail in Delhi by 2017, need more: Dikshit

Delhi is likely to get its first monorail corridor between Shastri Park and Trilokpuri by 2017 and there is a need to identify more such corridors, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said today.

"A study has already been done for the monorail by DMRC and it started with RITES who did the preliminary study. We have come to the conclusion that we are going to start with 11 kilometres of monorail in the eastern part of Delhi and this will cover areas between Shastri Park and Trilokpuri," she said.

"I do hope in the next two to three years, we are hoping that by 2017 definitely, we will get the first monorail in Delhi," she added.

Speaking at a Indo-Japan seminar on monorail and Light Rail Transit, Dikshit said that this first line is just a beginning and there is need to identify many more corridors.

"We are thinking of a long term solution because we do think that metro alone will not suffice to cater to the large population that Delhi has as a city," Dikshit said.

She said there are areas in Delhi where the metro cannot go because they are congested and shorter distances which require public transport.

Earlier speaking at the conference Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath spoke in favour of developing monorails in Indian cities.

"I have been pushing for monorails because new technology involved is making them much more effective. I am told that monorails can be introduced in narrow width roads. This is very India specific - narrow width roads - because it uses only two wheels," Nath said.

Monorails can negotiate sharp turns and are particularly useful in congested areas, he noted.

He said land acquisition, which is major hurdle, can be lessened if not eliminated by choosing monorail projects.