Definition from the
Monorail Society (monorails.org):
MO*NO*RAIL n. 1. A single rail serving as a track for passenger or freight vehicles.
In most cases rail is
elevated, but monorails can also run at grade, below grade or
in subway tunnels. Vehicles are either suspended from or
straddle a narrow guideway.
Monorail vehicles are WIDER than the guideway that supports them.
Major monorail deployments:
- Japan:
- Japan's first monorail was at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, built in 1957. With
over a million passengers in its first year, the Ueno Monorail proved the
popularity of monorail to Japan decision makers.
- The seventh monorail system built in Japan, in 1990, was the Osaka Monorail. In 1995, the disastrous
earthquake of nearby Kobe proved to be a test for the Osaka Monorail.
It withstood the violent quake and proved to be a vital transit link in the area as traffic on the parallel
freeway became completely jammed with evacuees.
- Walt Disney World, Florida: Opened in 1971, this system carries 150,000+/day.
- Opened in 1901, the world's oldest operating transportation monorail operates in the
Ruhr district of Germany. The name "Schwebebahn" translates to Suspended Railway.
Top speed for the vehicles is 56 kph. In April of 1999, a derailment of a morning commuter
train caused four deaths, the only fatal mass transit monorail accident in the 20th century.
Ray Bradbury regarding LA's decision to not go with The Alweg Monorail Company's proposal to build
a monorail system for free, which would be handed over to LA and be repaid by profits.
"on New Years Day 2001, let us pour 10,000 tons of cement into our never-should-have-been-started,
never-to-be-finished subway, for final rites. Its concept was always insane, its possible
fares preposterous. Even if it were finished and opened, no one could afford to use it.
So kill the subway and telephone Alweg Monorail to accept their offer, made 30 years ago,
to erect 12 crosstown monorails--free, gratis--if we let them run the traffic. I was there
the afternoon our supervisors rejected that splendid offer, and I was thrown out of the
meeting for making impolite noises. Remember, subways are for cold climes, snow and sleet
in dead-winter London, Moscow or Toronto. Monorails are for high, free, open-air spirits,
for our always-fair weather. Subways are Forest Lawn extensions. Let's bury our dead MTA
and get on with life."- Ray Bradbury
And you gotta check this out:
The Monorail Song
From the episode: "Marge vs. the Monorail (9F10)."
written by Conan O'Brien