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There are hundreds of monorails operating worldwide yet most of them are fairly slow-moving systems at theme parks and airports, linking various sites and car-parking facilities or, as at airports, between terminals.
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There are a couple of major systems, notably that in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, where a monorail system runs above the streets as a public transport system. The system was opened in 2003 and covers about 9 kms (5 miles) with 11 stations. There are plans to extend it and to construct further systems in other cities in Asia.
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Tokyo has an even more extensive system, covering 18 kms which carries about 150,000 passengers per day. Monorails are quiet, normally running under automatic control with no driver, and are efficient for what they do. Their construction is also easier than for conventional railways, making them ideal alternatives to underground systems for busy cities. The cost per mile to construct a monorail system (discounting the cost of any land acquired) is about US$25-35 million (The KL system cost $36 million per mile). Sydney also has a single loop line running above the streets though there are some concerns over its commercial success.
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Obviously there is massive disruption to traffic during the construction process – as there is with tram systems – but once in place they can take a huge amount of passenger traffic off the streets. They have a wonderful future as a relatively slow-moving, inner-city mass transportation system. You may be interested to learn more about monorails from The Monorail Society (www.monorails.org)
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