Monorail train stops on tracks in Mumbai due to technical snag; all 17 passengers rescued

A monorail train came to an abrupt halt on tracks due to a "technical snag" in Mumbai on Monday morning, following which all 17 passengers onboard were rescued, officials said, adding the incident was the second in less than a month. The incident took place at 7:16 am between the Antop Hill Bus Depot and GTBN monorail station in Wadala, they said. "Today, a technical snag occurred in one of the mono trains. As per safety protocols, all 17 passengers on board were swiftly and safely transferred to another train and taken to the next station by 7:40 am," said a spokesperson of Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMMOCL), which operates the monorail. "The affected train is being towed away. Services between Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk and Wadala were running on a single line with delays, while Wadala to Chembur services remained operational as usual," MMMOCL said in a statement.

A Fire Brigade official said two fire engines and two turntables were dispatched to the site for the post-incident operation but their deployment was not needed as the passengers were evacuated after another rake was brought on the parallel track. On August 19, amid very heavy rains, as many as 582 passengers were stranded on a monorail near Mysore Colony station for several hours before being rescued by the Mumbai Fire Brigade. Another monorail train was stuck at Acharya Atre Nagar station, where 200 passengers were evacuated. Rescue teams, including the Mumbai Fire Brigade and other agencies, took several hours to safely evacuate all passengers amid difficulties caused by rains. Following these incidents, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) announced a series of immediate and long-term measures aimed at improving passenger safety and operational efficiency. These included the de-boarding of passengers from overloaded trains. Since then, on a few occasions over the past month, MMMOCL has stopped monorail trains at various stations to de-board passengers from overcrowded coaches. Mumbai is home to India's only monorail system, which runs on a 19.74 kilometre route between Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Saat Rasta) in the island city and Chembur in the eastern part of the metropolis. The first phase, covering 8.26 km, was commissioned in February 2014, while the remaining 11.28 km stretch was opened to the public in March 2019.