Why Monorails.

The idea of a high speed monorail from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast was mooted by Triple Bay Development Company in 1999 after initial plans were submitted to Queensland Transport for a monorail linking Redcliffe to the railway at Sandgate, Deagon or North Boondall. Triple Bay Development Company later became Skyrail Australia and the project was expanded to Noosaville after interest from Transrapid International who were looking for a site to construct a demonstrator line using their high speed Maglev train above.  The Queensland Government showed little interest and Transrapid took the project to Shanghai China where passengers are now being carried at speeds up to 400km/h.  Here are some valid reasons why we should choose modern monorail or maglev systems over other outdated modes of transport.

The need for large tracts of land, to provide the right of way corridor needed for conventional rail and LRT trams. The need to address the issues of noise abatement and the excessive time required to travel on trains and trams. It is estimated that the journey from Maroochydore to Brisbane Central station on a heavy rail train traveling along the Camcos corridor and stopping at all major stations would take well in excess of two hours to reach the City and therefore would not attract daily commuters, causing our roads to continue to be congested, increasing pollution.

Conventional steel wheel on rail trains present a traffic integration problem because they are generally constructed at the same grade level as the roads, requiring either level crossings or bridges and flyover's. Due to the obvious physical aspects of these trains it would not be possible to enter the business districts on the Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast therefore requiring a multitude of modes of transport to take commuters to the end of their journey. The LRT tram proposals in Brisbane and Gold Coast will ultimately require enormous expenditure on tunnels as there is simply not enough road space to carry this outdated technology.

On the other hand monorail does not have these problems. Monorail does not require large tracts of land to provide a right of way corridor. Monorail is predominantly elevated and so does not have a traffic integration problem. Monorails are generally quieter than conventional trains. The Transrapid Maglev would operate at speeds in excess of 300 kph, which would shorten the time taken to travel to Brisbane by road and therefore relieve traffic congestion and pollution. The SUTRA monorail would ferry passengers around Brisbane and the Gold Coast in a more timely fashion than any tramway system could ever acheive. Monorails can more easily enter built up areas and so lessen the need for interchange to other modes of transport.

Monorails can be constructed in conjunction with local infrastructure such as high rise buildings, shopping centres, casinos, and universities giving the option to have the stations inside the buildings or outside on the street with easy safe access from all directions. Modern urban monorail beams and pylons are largely prefabricated off site and erected during the evening preventing major disruption to traffic and businesses along the route alignment. The monorail alignment and structure can then be utilised to carry other services such as Gas, Electricity, Water, and Telecommunications adding to the value of the whole system. Monorails are fast proving themselves to be the most aesthetically pleasing and safest form of rail transport in the world today. This is the technology of tomorrow that needs to be used today!

To get an insight on LRT trams and why they should not be used in our cities follow this link to the light rail POW web site.