Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Saturday (21 February) said the upgraded Mumbai Monorail has secured the mandatory Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) certification for its new rolling stock and Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling system, issued by Bureau Veritas.
MMRDA said the next step is appointment of a retired Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) official to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the full 19.54 Km Monorail corridor and grant final statutory clearance required to restart passenger operations, which have been halted since September last year.
The authority said the ISA certification followed multiple milestones, including detailed inspection of the new rolling stock at the manufacturing facility, around 2 months of corridor testing to assess readiness, extensive static and dynamic tests, oscillation trials, and installation and interface-level testing of the CBTC-based signalling system.
MMRDA said the new “Made in India” rakes include 21 upgrades such as CCTV inside trains, Divyang-friendly seating, mobile/laptop charging points, dynamic route maps, improved suspension, fire-safety compliant design, metro-style interiors, and real-time monitoring and surveillance systems.
Why the Monorail services were halted
Monorail services on the Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle corridor were fully suspended from September 20, 2025 as part of a planned system overhaul and upgradation programme.
In its September 2025 note on the suspension, MMRDA said daily operations left only about 3.5 hours at night for installation and testing work, and that the limited window slowed progress because safety protocols required the power rail to be switched off, discharged, and recharged before each day’s operations.
MMRDA said the suspension was needed to enable uninterrupted installation, commissioning and integrated testing of new rakes and signalling systems, along with overhauling and retrofitting older rakes.
MMRDA also cited recent technical issues affecting services as another factor behind the decision to temporarily suspend operations for long-term reliability.
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