Monorail is a transportation system in which cars ride over, under, or alongside a single rail. This rail is usually an elevated concrete or steel beam supported at intervals by concrete or steel columns. Traditional monorail cars use several wheels around the single rail to provide support, guidance, and propulsion. Most have been powered by electric motors. Monorails provide transportation at airports or carry people downtown from the airport in several cities. They also serve city centers.
Monorails, like subways and elevated trains, are a form of rapid transit. They can travel at high speeds and carry many passengers. They also have excellent safety records. Monorails can be built faster than other types of rapid-transit systems. They operate quietly and are economical to build and operate.
The first monorail system, built in Wuppertal, Germany, in 1901, still carries passengers. Today, major cities that have monorails include Sydney, Australia; Tokyo and Osaka, Japan; Las Vegas; Newark, New Jersey; and Tampa. One of the world’s longest monorails, at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, is 143/4 miles (23.7 kilometers) long.
Today, scientists and engineers are developing monorails that use magnetic levitation trains, also called maglev trains. Electromagnetic forces guide and propel the vehicles, which do not touch the track when in motion. Shanghai has a maglev monorail that is about 19 miles (30 kilometers) long. See Magnetic levitation train .
