Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has put its plan of developing a second corridor of the monorail project covering Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan, on the backburner, due to a ridership issue.

The authority has shelved the project citing low ridership estimates and the availability of cheaper road transport alternatives. It has planned to develop a 30 km monorail network from Thane to Kalyan and another arm from Thane to Bhiwandi, with a cost of Rs 3,750 crore.

Originally, MMRDA had decided to connect Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan monorail project to Wadala-Kasarvadavali metro, but found it was not feasible since there would not be enough ridership on the corridor, and it was found that a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) would be a more effective and cheaper option of travel. Now MMRDA plans to go ahead with the metro corridor from Wadala to Kasarvadavali on Ghodbunder Road, in Thane.

The authority recently inaugurated the first corridor for the monorail project covering Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle.

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