Monorail: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

A monorail is a metro or railroad with a track consisting of a single rail, as opposed to the traditional track with two parallel rails.

Types and Technical Aspects

There are two main types of monorail systems. In suspended monorails, the train is located under the track, suspended from above. In the more popular straddle-beam monorail, the train straddles the rail, covering it on the sides. The straddle-beam style was popularized by ALWEG. There is also a form of suspended monorail developed by SAFEGE that places the wheels inside the rail.

Modern monorails are powered by electrical motors and generally have tires, instead of metal wheels which are found on subways, streetcar (tram), and light rail trains. These wheels roll along the top and sides of the rail to propel and stabilize the train. Most of modern monorail systems incorporate switches to the switching of cars between multiple lines and two-way travel. Some early monorail systems, notably the suspended monorail of Wuppertal (Germany), dating from 1901 and still in operation, have a design that makes it difficult to switch from one line to another. This limitation of the Wuppertal monorail still comes up at times in discussions of monorails despite that fact for both the suspended and straddle-beam type monorails the problem has been overcome.

Advantages:

• The primary advantage of monorails over conventional rail systems is that they require minimal space, both horizontally and vertically. The width required is determined by the monorail vehicle, not the track, and monorail systems are commonly elevated, requiring only a minimal footprint for support pillars.
• Due to a smaller footprint they are more attractive than conventional elevated rail lines and visually block only a minimal amount of sky.
• They are quieter, as modern monorails use rubber wheels on a concrete track
• Monorails are capable of climbing, descending and turning faster than most conventional rail systems.
• Monorails are safer, since the monorail wraps around its track and thus cannot derail and unlike light rail system, there is not risk of collision with traffic or pedestrians.
• They cost less to construct and maintain, especially when compared to underground metro systems.
• Unlike street level forms of transit such as light rail, tram, or buses, monorails do not have to contend with car or pedestrian traffic in any way.

Disadvantages:

• Monorails require their own guideway
• While a monorail's footprint is less than an elevated conventional rail system, it is larger than an underground system's.
• Most countries (apart from Japan) do not have standardized beam specifications for monorails, thus most tend to be proprietary systems.
• There are also some lingering concerns over the speed and capacity of monorails.

Monorail systems have been built in many countries around the world, many of them on elevated tracks through crowded areas that would otherwise require the construction of expensive underground lines or have the disadvantages of surface lines.

Asia

• Japan has employed monorails for rapid transit in six cities, including Tokyo and Osaka - The Tokyo Monorail carries around 100 million passengers yearly.

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has a monorail

Other Asian countries with monorail systems include China, South Korea and Singapore.

Europe

• Germany operates a suspended monorail in Wuppertal, dating back to 1901; Düsseldorf SkyTrain operates at the Düsseldorf International Airport. There is also the experimental Transrapid in Emsland.
• England and Italy both have monorail systems
• Moscow, Russia

North America

Monorails can be found in the following places in North America:

• Disneyland in Anaheim, California
• Disney World in Orlando, Florida - Arguably the world's best-known it serves over five million passengers yearly.
• Seattle, Washington - short monorail (Seattle Center Monorail) built for the Century 21 Exposition in 1962
• Jacksonville, Florida - public transit
• Las Vegas, Nevada - public transit
• Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida - people mover
• Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey - people mover
• Six Flags La Ronde in Montreal, Quebec - once part of a larger monorail systems built for Expo 67
• Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota

South America and Australia

• Both Australia and Brazil have built new monorail systems recently.

Future monorail projects

The short monorail built in Seattle for the Century 21 Exposition in 1962 is expected to be replaced with a longer version that will serve as public transit (construction begins in 2004).

Extensions of the Las Vegas Strip monorail north to the city center and south to the airport are being planned.

Several new system are being built in Asian cities including Putrajaya, Malaysia; Sentosa, Singapore; Chongqing, China; and Jakarta, Indonesia.