INDIA: Chief Minister of Maharashtra state Ashok Chavan celebrated Republic Day on January 26 by flagging off a test run of the first Mumbai Monorail car. 'It is a proud moment for all of us at Scomi', said Suhaimi Yaacob, Country President of the Malaysian firm which is supplying 15 four-car trainsets.

The elevated line is being developed by a consortium of Scomi and construction parent Larsen & Toubro under a Rs24·6bn turnkey contract awarded by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in November 2008.

The 19·5 km route between Jacob Circle and Chembur with 18 stations is expected to open in 2011. According to Scomi, each train can accommodate 600 passengers, providing a total daily capacity of 300 000 passengers.