Besides, the 22-km Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, connecting Sewri to Nhava Seva, will cut down travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
A hovercraft service ran briefly between Navi Mumbai and the Gateway of India in 1992-93 but had to shut down because of problems. In 2005, there was an attempt to revive the project and Metro Infrastructure and IIT-Powai were appointed as consultants, but the project did not take off.
Hovercraft at juhu beach , bombay mumbai , maharashtra , india1992
Caption: Hovercraft at juhu beach , bombay mumbai , maharashtra , india.
Image Code: DPA-MMN-85510. Photographer: Dinodia. Collection: Dinodia
Photo. Rights Managed
Several years ago, water transport from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai had to be
stopped due to denial of landing point by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT).
Cidco then shelved the project. The Maharashtra State Road Development
Corporation (MSRDC) was later asked to execute the project. Currently,
it has invited expressions of interest to revive the project that aims
to connect Ferry Wharf to Nerul.
As a viable and
attractive alternative to Mumbai's congested roadways, air-conditioned
hovercraft service has several advantages.
Distance between Borivli and Nariman Point 55 km
Time between Borivli and Nariman Point 50 min (half of what it takes today)
Cost of one way ticket Rs 130
Passenger capacity 100-300
Days of year the service can run 300
For the hovercraft service to be really attractive, a Ro-Ro (roll on and roll off with vehicles) option would be the best. It will also cut down the congestion on the roadways. This is not being considered currently.
The past has not been so rosy for this service. Vashi to Gateway of India service was started in 1994, but was suspended due to lack of jetties, support from the government. What is required is permanent set of jetties along with a terminal.
Abandoned 50-passenger hovercraft at Belapur (New Mumbai)
http://wikimapia.org/16652070/Abandoned-50-passenger-hovercraft-at-Belapur
India / Maharashtra / Panvel / New Mumbai
hovercraft
These two British-made hovercraft named Triton-I and Triton-II,
were owned and operated by Triton -- a 1996 joint-venture between the
Mahindra Group, CIDCO, IL&FS and SICOM. Triton had only two craft.
The one registered as VTZW was named Triton-I and VTZV was named
Triton-II.
Services began in November 1996 using these two 1992 model Griffon 4000TD, 50-passenger twin diesel hovercraft.
They ferried 1,000 passengers a day, regularly on a 30-minute trip between Juhu and Chowpatty beach.
The government had guaranteed Triton that they would provide jetties and access roads on the beaches. However, even two years later, these facilities were non-existent. The government alloted Triton a plot of land to land the hovercraft at Free Press Journal Marg at Nariman Point. Trial runs, ran successfully. However, local fisherfolk obstructed the hovercraft by anchoring their boats in the path of the craft.
To add to that The BMC demolished Triton's booth at Nariman Point.
The service, originally intended to run between Nariman Point and Juhu beach was truncated to terminate at Chowpatty.
The last hovercraft plied between Chowpatty and Juhu beach in April 1998.
After a lengthy monsoon break, the service was killed off. It had made losses of Rs. 1.5 crore per year.
Services began in November 1996 using these two 1992 model Griffon 4000TD, 50-passenger twin diesel hovercraft.
They ferried 1,000 passengers a day, regularly on a 30-minute trip between Juhu and Chowpatty beach.
The government had guaranteed Triton that they would provide jetties and access roads on the beaches. However, even two years later, these facilities were non-existent. The government alloted Triton a plot of land to land the hovercraft at Free Press Journal Marg at Nariman Point. Trial runs, ran successfully. However, local fisherfolk obstructed the hovercraft by anchoring their boats in the path of the craft.
To add to that The BMC demolished Triton's booth at Nariman Point.
The service, originally intended to run between Nariman Point and Juhu beach was truncated to terminate at Chowpatty.
The last hovercraft plied between Chowpatty and Juhu beach in April 1998.
After a lengthy monsoon break, the service was killed off. It had made losses of Rs. 1.5 crore per year.
Coordinates: 19°0'51"N 73°2'33"E
Nearby cities:
PARSIK HILL,
KAMOTHE SEC 12 ,
Juinagar
Comments
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ramrao wrote 1 year agoThese hovercraft traveled only from Juhu to Chowpatty, while the service was alive. How did they happen to be abandoned at Belapur?
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ramrao wrote 2 years agoOriginal text and photographs by B. J. Ram Rao [dob:1-Dec-1957]. Stored here for future reference. These two British-made hovercraft named Triton-I and Triton-II, were owned and operated by Triton -- a 1996 joint-venture between the Mahindra Group, CIDCO, IL&FS and SICOM. Triton had only two craft. The one registered as VTZW was named Triton-I and VTZV was named Triton-II. Services began in November 1996 using these two 1992 model Griffon 4000TD, 50-passenger twin diesel hovercraft. They ferried 1,000 passengers a day, regularly on a 30-minute trip between Juhu and Chowpatty beach. The government had guaranteed Triton that they would provide jetties and access roads on the beaches. However, even two years later, these facilities were non-existent. The government alloted Triton a plot of land to land the hovercraft at Free Press Journal Marg at Nariman Point. Trial runs, ran successfully. However, local fisherfolk obstructed the hovercraft by anchoring their boats in the path of the craft. To add to that The BMC demolished Triton's booth at Nariman Point. The service, originally intended to run between Nariman Point and Juhu beach was truncated to terminate at Chowpatty. The last hovercraft plied between Chowpatty and Juhu beach in April 1998. After a lengthy monsoon break, the service was killed off. It had made losses of Rs. 1.5 crore per year.
Hovercraft rider: Rs 300 for 45-minute zip from North Mumbai to Nariman Point
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Swapnil Rawal : MUmbai, Tue Sep 28 2010, 00:04 hrsOnce the inland passenger water transport project is complete, hovercraft and catamarans will carry commuters from North Mumbai to Nariman Point in 45 minutes, but it will come up at a price, a one-way ticket ranging between Rs 300 to Rs 350.
The Rs 1,200-crore project that has been on the drawing boards since 2002 envisages linking the western waterfront from Nariman Point to Borivali with PWT terminals at Bandra, Juhu, Versova and Marve.
"Working out the fares is in the scope of work of the concessionaire (the Pratibha Industries Ltd-led consortium) though they will have to get approval from us," said an official with nodal agency Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
"We are currently awaiting clearance from the cabinet sub committee on the project before issuing the letter of acceptance. But the fares would be less than the taxi fare per kilometre."
A representative of the consortium said the fare works out to Rs 12 per kilometre "as of today". "For endpoint-to-endpoint travel it should cost around Rs 300 to Rs 350. The rates are still not finalised, this is a preliminary estimate. Once the LoA is issued we will present it to MSRDC and discuss it," said Raju Bansode of Pratibha Industries, who is in charge of the project.
Bansode acknowledged that the higher the fares, the lower the likely ridership. "The fare may be reduced for a longer trip. We are making a lot of investment on the infrastructure of terminals, vessels etc, so low ridership will not be in the larger interest of the project."
The most used mode of transport on the same route, suburban trains, is saturated. Buses, taxis and even private vehicles have to struggle through the traffic and take around two-and-a-half hours for the journey.
The objective of the project, when floated, was to complement the suburban rail network. For the same distance, a second-class monthly season ticket costs Rs 140, but it comes with a jampacked one-hour ride.
"The catamarans and hovercraft will be airconditioned as will the terminals at various locations as per the conditions of the government. It would be a world-class travel experience," Bansode said.]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Mumbai Water-Ways : Making In-Roads in Waters
29 December 2008 One CommentThe Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has made yet another move to kickstart water transport for the eastern and western fronts of Mumbai.THE HOVER CRAFT SERVICE BETWEEN JUHU AND CHOWPATTY CAME TO AN ABRUPT END FOLLOWING A FIRE WHILE AT SEA ,NEAR SHORE ,BUT WITHOUT ANY CASUALITY IN 1998.It had made losses of Rs. 1.5 crore per year.
A few years ago, hovercraft services were available between Chowpatty and Juhu on the western front and Gateway of India to Vashi and Belapur in Navi Mumbai. A few experiments were conducted to provide hovercraft services till Mulund too.
But the unorganised efforts of companies did not yield results. The MSRDC has been planning to shape up the proposal. Its last attempt was caught in a legal wrangle and the company shortlisted for the task was not financially viable.
This time around, the MSRDC wants to formulate a concrete plan with all-weather crafts. As the MSRDC is seeking companies with good financial backgrounds, the officials have called for proposals with a deposit of Rs 3 crore for the western suburbs and Rs 2 crore for the eastern suburbs. The project will be implemented on Build Operate and Transfer basis. The companies will have to design, finance, construct, monitor, operate, maintain and transfer the project. The final proposals have to reach the MSRDC office by March 7, 2009.
On the western front, the MSRDC wants to connect the central business district of Nariman Point with Gorai, with stoppages at Chowpatty, Bandra and Andheri. On the eastern side, the authorities plan to connect the Gateway of India with Navi Mumbai and Mulund. This will save travel time too.
Ideally, the government must have a 49% stake in the project, since most of these crafts are expensive and the companies operating them will charge a hefty amount. The whole idea may lose effectivity in case pricing is incorrrect. The government needs to construct better jetties and can earn by putting up shops along them.
MSRDC’s founder-managing director R C Sinha who shaped the flyovers for the city said, “The corporation must study the proposal and its feasibility or it would turn into something like the Worli-Bandra project (where costs are increasing each month.)’’
The Maharashtra Maritime Board was to start the construction of jetties at Gorai, but that has been slow-moving.
Corporation sources said they have the permission from the environment and forest ministry but the eastern front plan was yet to get the final nod. Following the terror attacks, the department of atomic energy is also likely to put forward its objections as the BARC falls en route.
