List of monorail systems
A Monorail is a railway system in which the track consists of a single rail, typically elevated and with the trains suspended from it. The term is also used to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track. 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.
Operational monorails
This is a listing of monorails that are presently operating and open to the public. Only true monorails (vehicle wider than track) are included; see people mover for a list of monorail-like systems.
Other Monorails
Africa
Nigeria
There is a monorail under construction in Port Harcourt,[4] Enugu,[5] and Onitsha.[6]
Brazil
- São Paulo, Brazil has a project (Line 17) to build a monorail that will connect Congonhas Airport to Morumbi and Jabaquara districts.[7]
- São Paulo, Brazil has another project (Line 18) to build a monorail that will connect São Paulo to the neighbour ABC region.
South Africa
- The Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg (located next to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer City) hosts a monorail[8] that is operated during major events such as the Rand Easter Show
- Sun City casino resort, linking day visitor parking area to main complex.[9]
Asia
Iran
- Kermanshah Monorail, Kermanshah, Iran. Opening 2016.[10]
- Qom Monorail, Qom, Iran. Project on hold (possible replacement with metro or light rail)[11]
Vietnam
- Saigon Monorail, Vietnam
- Friends of the Maglev railway 1
China
- Castfast Hotel, Fenggang, Dongguan, Guangdong[12]
- People's Republic of China the Ministry of Foreign
- Political（TYCO）monorail
Malaysia
Taiwan
- A monorail in E-DA Theme Park in Dashu District, Kaohsiung
Thailand
- Dream World Theme Park in the northern side of Bangkok has a monorail attraction in Adventure Land.
- Pattaya Park Resort in Chon Buri province has an operating monorail transit.
Europe
- Germany has several monorail systems:
- There are monorails in the Europa-Park, Heide Park and Phantasialand theme parks.
- There is also the experimental Transrapid Maglev ("magnetic levitation") railway system built in Emsland. This prototype was subsequently developed by a German consortium into the world's first commercial Maglev railway: the Shanghai Maglev Train which runs from the Longyang Road station on the Shanghai Metro to Shanghai's International Airport.
- Netherlands: there is a monorail located at Drievliet amusement park in The Hague, the Slagharen amusement park, the Hellendoorn amusement park and one located at Ouwehands Zoo.
- United Kingdom: monorail systems operate at:
- Alton Towers
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach (relocated from 1964 Lausanne fair in Switzerland)[13]
- Flamingo Land theme park
- National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hampshire.
- Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
- Marconi Express, Bologna, Italy.
North America
Monorails can be found in the following places in North America:
Airports and shopping/medical centers
- Pearlridge Skycab, Pearlridge Center in Aiea, Hawaii, near Honolulu. Connects the Uptown part of the mall to the Downtown part of the mall. It is the only monorail system in Hawaii.
- Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey - AirTrain Newark connects terminals, parking lots, and Amtrak/NJ Transit Northeast Corridor rail station
- Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida - installed in 1991 for transportation between the parking garage and different Airsides. It was the first monorail in that cars are completely computer operated.
Amusement parks/exhibition areas
- Cal Expo, the home of the California Exposition in Sacramento, has a monorail that runs for more than a mile around their fairgrounds. It is only open during the California State Fair[14]
- Zoo Miami, in Miami, Florida - Connects major exhibits at the zoo
- Hershey, Pennsylvania - amusement monorail at Hersheypark
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania - amusement monorail at Dutch Wonderland[15]
- Ocean City, New Jersey - amusement monorail at Gillians Wonderland Pier
- Memphis, Tennessee - a short suspended monorail connects Mud Island in the Mississippi River to Memphis.
- Dallas Zoo in Dallas, Texas
- Bronx Zoo in Bronx, New York City to visit Wild Asia exhibit in the Bronx Zoo
- Jungle Jim's International Market monorail in Fairfield, Ohio brings riders from a remote parking lot to the Oscar Events Center; cars were originally used at nearby Kings Island.[16]
The IOC plenary of the 131th Xia Mao station construction project
- Cheng Yu-Maglev railway
- Chongqing-Guizhou Maglev railway
- Guizhou railway
- Liu long Maglev railway
- Li Bin Maglev railway
- Foreshore-Tianjin-Maglev railway
- National Foreign Affairs development monitoring Bank dedicated Maglev railway
- Straits Exchange Association of Guangzhou metro monorail line
- Along the trans-Asian rail
- Monorail systems in Bangkok:
Australia
- A Von Roll Type III monorail between Conrad Jupiters Casino and the nearby Oasis Shopping Centre in Broadbeach, using components from the dismantled Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the United Kingdom.
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- Greatdreams market city base Accra 5th base
- Fez, MoroccoGreatdreams FES market city base base (Skybus)
- Alexandria, EgyptAlexander greatdreams market city base base
- Greatdreams Kang Di-takeladi-market city base base
- Koforidua greatdreams market city base base
- Greatdreams-Bolgatanga market city base base
- Greatdreams market city base of Oman base area
- Greatdreams Muscat market city base base
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- Greatdreams market urban base United States base area
- Greatdreams market city base New Orleans-base
- Greatdreams-Baton Rouge market city base base
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- Greatdreams-New Iberia market city base base
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- Greatdreams-Cincinnati market city base base
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- Greatdreams-Cincinnati market city base, 3rd Base
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- Greatdreams market city base Brunswick base
- Greatdreams Sandusky market city base base
- Greatdreams Yonkers market city base base
- Greatdreams market city base for Asia-Bernie base
- Greatdreams-market city base Solomon base
- Greatdreams market city base norm base
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- Greatdreams market city base-Unalaska base
- Greatdreams market city base anchorage base
- Greatdreams-Wichita market city base base
- Greatdreams market city base in the Washington, DC base
Monorails under construction
Physical construction work has started on the following monorails:
Eurasia
- Riyadh Monorail, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Will serve the King Abdullah Financial District. Opening 2015.
- Skybus Metro, Margao, Goa, India. Test track (1.6 km) built, construction of 10.5 km public track suspended.
Americas
- São Paulo Metro of São Paulo, Brazil has one monorail line under construction, after one opened in 2014:
Africa
India
- Ahmedabad Monorail, Ahmedabad
- Aizawl Monorail, Aizawl
- Allahabad Monorail, Allahabad
- Bangalore Monorail, Bangalore
- Chennai Monorail, Chennai
- Coimbatore Monorail, Coimbatore
- Delhi Monorail, New Delhi
- Indore Monorail, Indore
- Kanpur Monorail, Kanpur
- Kolkata Monorail, Kolkata
- Navi Mumbai Monorail, Navi Mumbai
- Patna Monorail, Patna
- Pune Monorail, Pune
- Ranchi Monorail, Ranchi
- Thiruvananthapuram Monorail, Thiruvananthapuram
Proposed monorails
Africa
- Lagos, Nigeria[17]
- Johannesburg, South Africa[18]
- Cape Town, South Africa[18]
- Onitsha, Nigeria[19]
- Aba, Nigeria[20]
- Umuahia, Nigeria[20]
North America
- Chicago - Navy Pier
- Sherbourne Conference Center Monorail, Saint Michael, Barbados[21]
- Los Angeles - Las Vegas - Maglev[22]
- Atlanta - Chattanooga - Maglev[22]
- Washington - Baltimore - Maglev[22]
- As part of the DestiNY USA project in Syracuse, a monorail from Syracuse University to Syracuse Hancock International Airport via downtown and the DestiNY complexes is planned.
- Quebec province, Canada. Since many years plans for a high-speed transit system have been tabled. Since the cost for a new train would be too high and that it wouldn't be fit for the Québécois winters, the option for a monorail has been debated. In late 2012 TrensQuébec released two newsletters stating that they've found enough investors and supporting politicians to build a 5-kilometer test track.[23]
- New York - Stony Brook University
- Pittsburgh International Airport - Pittsburgh - Greensburg, Pennsylvania - Maglev[24]
- Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada
- Lubbock, Texas[25]
- New York, New York. AirTrain LaGuardia is proposed link from LaGuardia Airport to the New York Subway.[26]
South America
- Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. The Manaus Monorail was originally planned to be constructed by 2014. The project was delayed, and the contract is now cancelled.
- Buenos Aires, Argentina. Proposed.[27]
- Vargas, Venezuela. Proposed. The system would be part of state of Vargas new governor's transportation plan. The project would connect 5 cities: Catia La Mar, Maiquetia, La Guaira, Macuto and Caraballeda. The Swiss corporation Intamil presented the proposal. The trains will ride around 80 km/h and will translate about 60.000 passenger per hour.
- Arequipa, Peru. Proposed.[28]
- Niterói, Brazil. Had received the go-ahead from Dilma Rousseff and will connect Niterói, São Gonçalo, and Itaboraí, before the State considered implementing a heavy metro solution instead.[29]
Asia
Bangladesh
China
Hong Kong
- Environmentally Friendly Linkage System, New Kowloon, Hong Kong
- West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong (cancelled)
Indonesia
- Bali Monorail, Bali
- Greater Bandung Monorail, Bandung
- Palembang Monorail, Palembang
- Surabaya Monorail, Surabaya
Malaysia
- JB Monorail, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
- KL Monorail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Malacca Monorail, Malacca, Malaysia
- Penang Monorail, Penang, Malaysia
Sri Lanka
Europe
- Preston Monorail, United Kingdom[30]
- Uppsala, Sweden (this proposed monorail only carries 1-5 passengers, and needs no drivers).[31]
- Liverpool Monorail, United Kingdom (to be create as part of the Liverpool Waters project with link to John Lennon Airport
- Thessaloniki Monorail, Greece, proposed extension of the Thessaloniki Metro from Mikra Depot to Makedonia International Airport via monorail.
- MCH Skybus, Herning, Denmark - MCH's 2025 vision includes a monorail system between the exhibition centre and the town centre.[32]
Decommissioned or Cancelled Monorails
Asia
Hong Kong
- Monorail in Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park, Hong Kong[33][34]
- Monorail in Kai Tak Amusement Park, Hong Kong[35]
India
- Kundala Valley Railway, Munnar, Kerala (1902–1908)
- Patiala State Monorail Trainways, Punjab (1910–1927)
- Skybus Metro, Margao, Goa (2004–2013)
Indonesia
Iran
- Tehran Monorail, Tehran. Project cancelled after completion of 3% of construction work.[37]
Japan
- Himeji City Monorail Line, Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan (1966–1974)
- Odakyu Mukogaokayuen Monorail Line, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan (1966–2001)
- Monkey Park Monorail Line, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan (1962–2008)
- Nara Dreamland Monorail, Nara Dreamland, Japan (1961–2006)
- Yokohama Dreamland Monorail, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan (1966–1967)
- Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Monorail Line, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan (1964–1974)
Malaysia
- Sunway Monorail, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Served Sunway City, including Sunway Pyramid mall and Sunway Lagoon theme park and the surrounding. Decommissioned and partly dismantled to allow mall expansion. It being replaced by BRT Sunway Line.
Singapore
- Sentosa Monorail, Singapore (1982–2005). Replaced by the Sentosa Express monorail.
- Jurong BirdPark Panorail (1991-2012).
Thailand
- Fashion Island Monorail, Bangkok, Thailand. Short indoor amusement park monorail in Fashion Island shopping center. Decommissioned due to an accident which killed 2 riders.
- Tuk-Tuk Monorail, Bangkok. Half indoor-outdoor monorail tour operated between LeoLand amusement park and the water park. The track is still located in the 6th floor of Central City Bang Na.
Australia
- Sydney Monorail (also known as Metro Monorail), Sydney, Australia (closed on 30 June 2013)[38]
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- Brisbane, Queensland had a Von Roll Type II monorail built for World Expo '88. Four sets, consisting of nine carriages each, operated in a continuous loop throughout the Expo site. A single train set and some track was sold to Sea World, Gold Coast, in 1989 for expansion of its monorail system. The remainder of the sets and track were bought back by Von Roll.
Europe
- Milngavie, near Glasgow, had an experimental high-speed propellor-powered monorail, the Bennie Rail Plane, built during 1929-30 and abandoned during the Great Depression.
- Butlins Skegness Camp, Skegness, United Kingdom (1964–2003) — the first commercial monorail in the UK
- Birmingham Airport had a magnetic levitation train which had to be closed down due it becoming life expired and a lack of spare parts. It was later rebuilt as a more conventional elevated rail system.
- Safari Skyway, Chessington, United Kingdom (1986–2015). Operated in Chessington World of Adventures.
- Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Brierley Hill, West Midlands had a Von Roll Mk III Series monorail which opened in June 1991 but only worked for a short while before finally being sold off in 1996. The rolling stock now operates in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. Reasons for the closure of this system include a combination of technical problems and safety concerns (especially the difficulty of evacuation), exacerbated by a dispute between the owners of Merry Hill and The Waterfront which at this time were owned separately.
- Seville Expo '92
- France has two abandoned test tracks for the Aérotrain, which can be considered monorails. One is between Limours and Gometz-la-Ville and the other between Saran and Artenay. France also had a suspended monorail the SAFEGE that featured in the film Fahrenheit 451.
- Russia had one suspended monorail build in 1899 at a leisure park. A horse-pulled monorail was already been built in 1820 in Myachkove near Moscow.
North America
Canada
- Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia had a monorail that was moved to Alton Towers in the United Kingdom.
- The Minirail at Expo 67 in Montreal, which joined Pleasure Beach Blackpool in purchasing rail and rolling stock from the monorail system at the 1964 Lausanne exposition, along with new rail cars from the manufacturer.[39][40]
- The Ontario Southern Railway operated one of the earliest North American monorails between the amusement park at Crystal Beach, Ontario and the main line railway station (1896–1898)
- Toronto Zoo Domain Ride, Toronto (1976–1994)
USA
- The Boynton Bicycle Railroad was a monorail on Long Island, New York, which ran on a single load-bearing rail at ground level with a wooden overhead stabilising rail engaged by a pair of horizontally opposed wheels.
- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay also had a monorail, the Veldt Monorail. It shut down in 1999 due to upkeep cost.
- Busch Gardens Williamsburg had a monorail, Eagle One, that connected the theme park with the nearby Anheuser-Busch brewery. Park visitors could tour the brewery and return via monorail. The setup lost money; the tours were discontinued and Eagle One dismantled in the 1990s.
- Carowinds operated the Carowinds Monorail from 1973 through 1994.[41]
- The Centennial Monorail was demonstrated at the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, which was held in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
- The Epsom Salts Monorail was "the fastest moving monorail in the world" when it was built from 1922 to 1924 by Thomas Wright, a florist from Los Angeles, who had discovered magnesium salts southwest of Death Valley.
- Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Michigan (outside of Detroit) had a shuttle monorail that connected to the Dearborn Hyatt Regency Hotel to the Fairlane shopping mall.
- Geauga Lake operated a monorail from 1969-2006, named the Bel-Aire Express
- Jetrail, a suspended monorail, was the world's first fully automated monorail system during operation at Dallas Love Field (1969–1974)
- The Trailblazer suspended monorail ran from October 1956 until 1964 at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. The single monorail car was used in Houston for a demonstration prior to its relocation to the State Fair of Texas.[42]
- Kings Dominion near Richmond, Virginia had a monorail as the conveyance for visitors to its Lion Country Safari attraction, which was removed after the 1993 season.
- State Fair of Oklahoma Monorail, Oklahoma City (1964–2005)
- The Pelham Park and City Island Railroad in the Bronx, New York, New York operated a short-lived monorail system in 1910. It ceased operation after an accident.[citation needed]
- The Philadelphia Zoo had a monorail in the 1970s and 1980s, but was discontinued in the 1990s.
- Miami Seaquarium Spacerail, Miami Seaquarium (1963–1991)
- The Wgasa Bush Line at the San Diego Wild Animal Park near Escondido, California was shut down in March 2007. It was a five-mile (eight km) long, one hour tour around the large area devoted to animal environments.
- Flushing Meadow Park New York, New York had a monorail during the 1964 New York World's Fair. It was a proof of concept with only one station. It was sponsored by American Machine and Foundry.
- Jungle Jim's International Grocery Store near Cincinnati, Ohio maintained a monorail circulator purchased from Kings Island Theme Park. However, plans are in motion to bring the monorail back online in the future to shuttle people from the grocery store's hotel to the store.
- Six Flags Magic Mountain operated a monorail since the park's opening in 1971 and shut down several years ago due to lack of parts.
- Fairplex operated a monorail built by the American Crane and Hoist company. The middle 90s saw a new station and new cars built by Arrow Dynamics. The new cars were far heavier than the original and caused it to last only a couple of years more until it was dismantled. Today, very little to no traces exist of it.
- Santa's Village in Skyforest had another American Crane and Hoist monorail that shut down when the park went defunct.
- The Hotchkiss Bicycle Railroad ran from Smithville to Mount Holly, New Jersey from 1892 to 1897
- The Minnesota Zoo operated a monorail around the grounds of its Apple Valley, Minnesota site from 1979 until 2013.[43]
- The proposed monorail set to run from West Seattle to Ballard was struck down during the 2014 midterm elections on November 4, 2014. Citizen Proposition No. 1 had only amassed support from 19.6% of city voters.[44]
South America
- Brazil had a monorail in Rio de Janeiro that linked the large Barra Shopping mall to its parking lot. After its destruction, only one part of the track and the platform still remain in the parking lot (second floor, behind the Fnac dome). [citation needed]
References
- ^ http://www.bobbejaanland.be/be/attracties/monorail
- ^ "Plaza Imperial Monorail - a Photo Essay". The Monorail Society. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://riversmonorail.ng/
- ^ http://www.globim.com/enugu.html
- ^ http://www.globim.com/onitsha.html
- ^ http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/economia/bombardier-construira-monotrilho-em-sao-paulo
- ^ "Nasrec Development - Stage 2: Business Plan" (PDF). Johannesburg Development Agency. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Sun City Transport". Retrieved 2009-10-21.
- ^ http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Kermanshah.html
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ Beesley, Paul (2008-07-04). "Behind the scenes - A closer look at Blackpools Monorail". Ridemad. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
Pleasure Beach Blackpool bought the monorail in 1964 from the Lausanne expo in Switzerland and it was opened in Pleasure Beach in 1966.
- ^ Hilton, Spud. "The monorail at CalExpo winds more than a - Media (3 of 4) State Fair's city of fun / California's". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ [4]
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- ^ http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2010/12/nigerian-monorail-3/
- ^ a b African Business July 2007 p48
- ^ http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2012/04/onitsha-metropolitan-monorail-nigeria/
- ^ a b http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11361046-s75.htm
- ^ "Monorail to Sherbourne suggested". The Nation Newspaper. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ a b c Joseph P Schwieterman (2007-09-01). "Return of the inter-city train". Railway Gazette International. p. 563.
- ^ http://www.trensquebec.qc.ca TrensQuébec (French).
- ^ Pennsylvania High Speed Maglev Project - Connecting Pittsburgh International Airport, Downtown, Monroeville, Greensburg
- ^ Young, Adam D. (January 4, 2014). "Texas Tech to downtown monorail could more than a daydream for Lubbock, McDougal says". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014.
- ^ Barron, James (11 March 2015). "Tracing the Route of a Proposed AirTrain to La Guardia Airport". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1476974-evaluan-construir-un-monorriel-junto-a-la-panamericana
- ^ http://elcomercio.pe/actualidad/1647822/noticia-arequipa-contaria-tren-electrico-2016
- ^ http://www.bnamericas.com/news/infrastructure/rousseff-to-sign-agreement-for-us875mn-monorail-construction-in-rio
- ^ "Preston council chief proposes monorail service". 2008-04-23. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "News paper article". 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ "6. fase - Svævebane". MCH. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/09/10/ahok-confirms-cancellation-monorail-project.html
- ^ Monorail News
- ^ "Sydney's monorail to make its final stop on June 30 next year".
- ^ Gold, John Robert; Margaret M. Gold. Cities of Culture. Ashgate Publishing. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-84014-285-3. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ Beauchamp (January 1997). Exhibiting Electricity. Institution of Electrical Engineers. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-85296-895-6.
- ^ Pendergrast, Lolo (August 23, 1994). "Carowinds retires monorail attraction". The Charlotte Observer. p. 1C.
- ^ "First U.S. Monorail Has Trial Run." Popular Mechanics, June 1956, p. 77.
- ^ http://www.twincities.com 6/2/2013
- ^ Kaiman, Beth (4 November 2014). "Seattle's Latest monorail proposal loses big". The Seattle TImes. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
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