Pod car transport system on anvil

Pod car transport system on anvil

Even though the metro and monorail projects are yet to benefit Mumbaikars, another transport system has been proposed for the city. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC) is planning to set up a pod car system connecting Andheri and Bandra via the international airport. A senior MSRDC official said they were planning to set up the system from Andheri station to Bandra station with “loops” to places such as the airport, Nehru road and the Bandra Kurla Complex. A similar system is in operation at the Heathrow airport in the UK, and work has begun on a project in Amritsar. “This will enable people to go from any point on the system to any other point. It will offer the flexibility of a taxi,” he said. “It will take around 17 minutes to travel from Bandra station to Andheri station, much less than the time taken now. Travelling from any one point to another will take less than 20 minutes.” The official claimed that this will provide increased connectivity and reduce the number of vehicles on roads. “This is the most viable route and we are planning to execute it on a build, operate, transfer basis,” said the official, adding that they had chosen the route over the other two arms -- airport to Powai and airport to Goregaon. These, however, were also being considered, he said. The automated and driver-less pod cars will be able to accommodate around four passengers in each vehicle. They will either be battery-operated or run on electricity. “The system will cost around Rs800 crore for a distance of around 16-17km including the various loops that are being planned,” he added. The official said they were planning to invite global bids for the project in a few months. Private operators will have to undertake civil work to set up the system, procure the cars and operate them in lieu of fares. The system will be an elevated one but will take up less space due to smaller size of the beams, which will make it easy to navigate the congested and built-up areas.