Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to commission the Monorail in its entirety on Sunday. The crucial Phase 2, connecting Wadala to Saat Rasta in Mahalaxmi, will be thrown open to the public.

R.A. Rajeev, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, said, “Phase 2 of the Monorail will be inaugurated on Sunday and commercial operations will commence after the flag-off.” The corridor is becoming operational nearly eight years after its first deadline: May 2011.

The MMRDA has allocated ₹150 crore in its budget for 2019-2020. Mr Rajeev said that the allocation was for the operation and maintenance of the Monorail and to acquire 10 new rakes over the next year. The tenders are expected to be floated soon. While Phase 2 was ready in early 2018, MMRDA was unable to commission the 10.6-km section due to lack of functional rakes.

This month, MMRDA got crucial spares to make at least two more rakes functional. Now, MMRDA is running services between Chembur and Wadala using four rakes. The daily ridership of the Monorail is roughly 18,000. Once the entire 19.5-km corridor is made operational, MMRDA officials expect the daily ridership to increase to one lakh. The second phase has been considered crucial for the viability of the project as it will provide seamless connectivity to areas not connected by rail.

Once the entire corridor is commissioned, services will run at a 20-minute frequency from Chembur to Mahalaxmi. Under the new fare structure, tickets will range from ₹10 to ₹40. They currently range between ₹5 and ₹11.

The project has been plagued with several issues over the years and was not operational for nearly a year after a fire gutted two coaches in November 2017. In December 2018, the MMRDA took over the project.