MONORAIL

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Considering the increase in population, increased travel demand and narrow road
networks running through congested structures, there is a need of a system which will occupy
less space as well as reduce travel time with the objective, to support public rapid transit system
such as suburban rail system and metro rail system and where public rapid transit system is not
available or impossible to provide such system and where widening of roads is not possible due
to structures on either sides, Mono Rail system is proposed to be implemented by
MMRDA/GOM in India.

Monorail is defined a rail based transportation system based on single rail, vehicles using the
railway or either suspended from or supported by the railway and the rails acts as sole support
and its guideway. It works under the principle of maglev (magnetic levitation). Maglev is a
transport method that uses magnetic levitation to move vehicles without touching the ground.

Monorails have been around since the 1800; the first monorail was made in Russia in 1820 by
Ivan Elmanov, but only really came to public attention in the 1950s when Walt Disney installed
one in his new theme park; Disneyland California. Tokyo monorail one of the busiest averages
12700 passengers per day and has served over 1964 billion passengers. These are divided in two
broad classes they are “straddle beam” and “suspended” monorail. Most common type is the
straddle beam in which the train straddles a steel or rainforced concrete beam. A rubber tired
carriage contacts the beam on the top and both side for traction and to stabilize the vehicle.
Almost all modern monorails are powered by electric motors fed by dual third rails, contacts
wires are electrified channels attached to or enclosed in their guidance beams. Monorail is raised
at a minimum height of 5.5 meters from ground level on columns.

At speed maglev trains hover over the track and are not in physical contact with it. Maglev trains
use magnets to levitate and propel the trains forward. Since there is no friction these trains can
reach high speeds. It is a safe and efficient way to travel.

A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole
support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or
the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track. The primary advantage of monorails over
conventional rail systems is that they require minimal space, both horizontally and vertically.
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Monorail vehicles are wider than the beam, and monorail systems are commonly elevated,
requiring only a minimal footprint for support pillars. A monorail track is usually less expensive
to build than a comparable elevated conventional rail line of equal capacity. Due to a smaller
footprint they are seen as more attractive than conventional elevated rail lines and block only a
minimal amount of sky. Monorail is by design a grade-separated system. They do not interfere
with existing transport modes. They are quieter, as modern monorails use rubber wheels on a
concrete track. Modern monorails depend on a large solid beam as the vehicles running surface.
There are a number of competing designs divided into two broad classes, straddle-beam and
suspended monorails.

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CHAPTER 2: HISTORY

EARLY DEVELOPMENT

Its concept was developed since 1800, the first monorail was made in Russia in 1820 by
Ivan Elmanov but only really came to public attention in the 1956’s when Walt Disney installed
one in his new theme park; Disneyland California.

Attempts at creating monorail alternatives to conventional railways have been made since the
early part of the 19th century. The earliest patent was taken out by Henry Palmer in the UK in
1821, and the design was employed at Deptford Dockyard in South-East London, and a short line
for moving stone from a quarry near Cheshunt, Hertfordshire to the River Lea. The Cheshunt line
is notable as it was the world's first monorail to carry passengers, as well as the first railway line
to be opened in Hertfordshire.

Around 1879 a "one-rail" system was proposed independently by Haddon and by Stringfellow,
which used an inverted "/\" rail. The system was intended for military use, but was also seen to
have civilian use as a "cheap railway."

Early designs centred on use of a double-flanged single metal rail alternative to the double rail of
conventional railways. Wheels on this rail would both guide and support the monorail car. A
surviving suspended version is the Wuppertal monorail. Into the 1900s, Gyro monorails, with
cars gyroscopically balanced on top of a single rail, were tested, but never developed beyond the
prototype stage. The Ewing System, used in the Patiala State Monorail Trainways in Punjab,
India, relies on a hybrid model with a load-bearing single rail and an external wheel for balance.
One of the first systems put into practical use was that of French engineer Charles Lartigue, who
built a monorail line between Ballybunion and Listowel in Ireland, which was opened in 1888
and closed in 1924 (due to damage from Ireland's Civil War). The Lartigue system uses a load-
bearing single rail and two lower, external rails for balance, the three carried on triangular
supports.

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1900s-1950s
A high speed monorail using the Lartigue system was proposed in 1901 between Liverpool and
Manchester. In 1910, the Brennan monorail was considered for use to a coal mine in Alaska.

The first half of the 20th century saw many further proposed designs, that either never left the
drawing board or remained as short lived prototypes. One of the first monorail systems planned
in the United States was in New York City in the early 1930s. But the monorail was scrubbed
instead for an elevated train system.

1950s-1980s
In the later half of the 20th century, monorail designs had settled on using larger beam or girder
based track, with vehicles supported by one set of wheels and guided by another. On of the first
testing of this type of system was by the German's of a 40% scale of the actual passenger
carrying system was designed for speed of 200 mph on straight stretches and 90 mph on curves
in the early. There were designs featuring vehicles supported, suspended or cantilevered from the
beams. In the 1950s the ALWEG straddle design emerged, followed by an updated suspended
type, the SAFEGE system. Versions of ALWEG's technology are currently used by both of the
two largest monorail manufacturers Hitachi Monorail and Bombardier.

In 1956, the first monorail to operate in the US, begun test operations in Houston, Texas.Later
during this period, major monorails were installed at Disneyland in California,Walt Disney
World in Florida, Seattle, Japan, and many other locations. Monorail systems were also heavily
promoted as futuristic technology with exhibition installations and amusement park purchases, as
seen by the number of legacy systems in use today. However, monorails gained little foothold
compared to conventional transport systems.

Niche private enterprise uses for monorails emerged, with the emergence of air travel and
shopping malls, with many shuttle type systems being built.

SUSPENDED AND BICYCLE RAILWAYS

In 1886, the Enos Electric Company demonstrated a suspended monorail on the grounds of the
Daft Electric Light Company in the Grenville section of New Jersey, which was closer in its
appearance to more modern monorails, but the most famous suspended monorail of this era was

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floating railway of Wuppertal (City of Germany), which entered service in 1901, and is still in
daily use. From 1910 - 1914 a monorail system designed by Howard H Tunis was used on the
Pelham Park and City Island Railroad in the Bronx, New York City as shown in the fig.1

Fig 1. City island railroad in Bronx, New York City

GYRO MONORAIL
The only true monorail was the Gyro Monorail developed independently by Louis Brennan,
August Scheral and Pyotr Shilovsky. The first true monorail is also known as Brennan Monorail.
This was a true single track train which used a gyroscope-based balancing system to remain
upright, but the development was effectively stopped by the first world war. For example,
Brennan Monorail as shown in the fig.2.

Fig 2. Brennan Monorail

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EVOLUTION OF MONORAIL
Its construction was however continued and problems which are faced during the construction
and operation of monorail was analyzed and actual remedial measures were introduced. The time
since the second world war has been characterized by a massive expansion of road and a
transport at the expense of rail. Under such circumstances, it was not surprising that marginal rail
projects, such as monorails, were first to be abandoned.

MODREN ERA OF DEVELOPMENT

The development of automotive technology has given rise to a new class of monorail which
owes little to the work of Palmer and Lartigue. These vehicles are suspended form or straddle
concrete beams, and use pneumatic tires to improve adhesion and reduce noise compared with
wheel on steel. They have more in common with guided buses than conventional railways. The
beam is less obtrusive than an overhead railway or roadway, and the modern designs may have a
niche in dealing with right of way problems in congested city centers, at lower cost compared
with tunneling. Modern monorail is shown in below fig.3 and fig.4.

Fig 3. Modern Monorail Fig 4. Mumbai Monorail

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CHAPTER 3: MONORAIL TECHNOLOGY

Monorail uses maglev (magnetic levitation) Technology. They are highly stable and
allow rapid deceleration from great speed. An alternating current is ran through electromagnet
coils on the guide walls of the guideway. This creates a magnetic field that attracts and repels the
super conducting magnets on the train and propels the train forward. Breaking these
accomplished by sending an alternating current in the reverse direction so that it is slowed by
attractive and repulsive forces.

Types of maglev technology:

1) Electromagnetic suspension (EMS):

Electronically controlled electromagnets in the train attract it to a magnetically

conductive (usually steel) track. Magnetic fields inside and outside the vehicle are less
than EDS proven, commercially available technology that can attain very high speeds
(500 km/h (310 mph)); no wheels or secondary propulsion system needed.

2) Electrodynamic suspension (EDS):

It uses superconducting electromagnets or strong permanent magnets which create a
magnetic field that induces currents in nearby metallic conductors when there is relative
movement which pushes and pulls the train towards the designed levitation position on
the guide way. Onboard magnets and large margin between rail and train enable highest
recorded train speeds (581 km/h (361 mph)) and heavy load capacity; has demonstrated
(December 2005) successful operations using high-temperature superconductors in its
onboard magnets, cooled with inexpensive liquid nitrogen.

Maglev Monorails
Most of the maglev (short for “magnetic levitation”) trains are essentially variations on the
straddle monorail. Instead of on-board motors, the interaction of magnets on the vehicle and on
the track moves the vehicle forward, while the vehicle itself is slightly levitated by other
magnets. While maglev is an interesting technology, its complexity suggests that it is best suited
to intercity rather than intra-city installations, placing it beyond the scope of this study. In

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addition, maglev monorail’s dramatically different operating principles compared with other
monorail types suggest that it serves little purpose to analyze maglev alongside more established
monorails.
Maglev technology uses powerful electromagnets so that the transports float along the track on a
cushion of air. This reduces friction, gives a very smooth quality of ride & makes such vehicle
relatively quiet. Magnets also used for propulsion & braking.

Fig 5. Maglev Monorail

Fig 6. The Transrapid system (Right) and the Maglift system (Left),

Fig 7. Wheels alignment of monorail

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CHAPTER 4: WORKING PRINCIPLE

It works under the principle of magnetic levitation train. It requires electromagnetic current
to generate magnetic field which is responsible for the acceleration and deceleration of train.
Propulsion of meglev train is explained below:

 The system consists of aluminium three-phase cable windings in the stator packs that are
on the guide way. This train uses superconducting electric magnets in the vehicle to
levitate and propel the train. These magnets are cooled by liquid helium or liquid
nitrogen. This means that once electrified these magnets do not require additional energy.

Fig 8. Monorail system components

 An alternating current is ran through electromagnet coils on the guide walls of guide way.
This creates a magnetic field that attracts and repels the super conducting magnets on the
train and propels the train forward. The magnets on the train keeps the train from moving
from side to side. A computer changes the amount of current to keep the train 1cm from
the track. Only the section of the track where the train is travelling is electrified.

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Fig 9. Propulsion principle of Monorail

 Breaking is accomplished by sending an alternating current in the reverse direction so

that it is slowed by attractive and repulsive forces. Different speeds are achieved by
varying the intensity of the current.

Fig 10. Longstator propulsion switching

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TYPES OF MONORAILS

Monorails are classified into two types of systems, they are

a) Straddle type monorail system
b) Suspended type monorail system

1) Straddle type monorail system

Straddle type travels by straddling the track and its center of gravity situated above the track.
Some features of the straddle type monorail system are:

 The construction period to deploy a monorail is far shorter than to build a subway, and
the construction costs are less expensive, that is, roughly one-third for building a large
monorail system and one-sixth for a small scale monorail system.

 Three scales of monorail systems with different carrying capacities are available; The
small straddle type monorail system has carrying capacity of 79 passengers per car, the
standard system is capable of carrying 100 passengers per car and large monorail system
can carry up to 173 passengers per car. Having a transport capacity of 2000 (small
system) to 25000 passengers (large system), they can flexibly accommodate a wide
range of municipal planning needs.

 Monorail vehicles with rubber tires can negotiate steep grades (6%) and small-radius
curves (40 meter curves for the small monorail). Rubber tires also provide a quite,
comfortable ride for passengers.

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2) Suspended type monorail system

Modern versions of the Schwebebahn look similar in that the monorail is suspended from
above. However, instead of using a single rail for support and guidance, the single rail is
replaced by a hollowed-out concrete or steel beam, and rubber tires are used instead of metal
wheels. Although this is the most common configuration, numerous
combinations of steel or concrete running surfaces and rubber tires or steel wheels—both
singly and doubly flanged have been proposed.
 Comparing to conventional and the ground monorails, the suspended type takes less
space.
 The innovative separation of cabin and its drive unit has compactly minimized planner
area occupation.
 Being ideally proper for installation on stairways or steep slopes in sloped residential
areas or on waterways.
 Suspended type monorail has wonderfully realized the convenient door to door
transportation of people.

Fig 12. Suspended Monorail

Monorail in India:
a) Mumbai Monorail:
Mumbai Monorail, the first monorail project of India, was constructed for the city of Mumbai,
which is touted as the commercial capital of India. It is the world’s second longest monorail after
Osaka Monorail Main Line, Japan. A 108m test run of the monorail was successfully conducted

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in January 2010. The technical testing over a length of 2.2km was successfully completed in
February 2012. The first phase of the line 1 was opened to public in February 2014. Operations
on the line were terminated after a coach caught fire in November 2017. The Mumbai
Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the owner of the project. In
November 2008, a consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Scomi Engineering (LTSE) was selected
by the MMRDA to implement the project. The LTSE consortium, led by Larsen & Toubro
(L&T), will implement the project on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis until 2029. The
estimated investment on the project is Rs24.6bn. The Mumbai Monorail will have the capacity to
carry up to 200,000 passengers a day when it is fully operational in early 2019.

Fig 13. Double Mumbai Monorail

Three types of hanging monorail columns

Fig 14. T type column Gate type column Racket type column

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Technical Specification:

Design Requirements:
All designs should withstand wind, earthquake, braking and acceleration, centrifugal, dead,
collision, and installation loads. Designs also consider tensile, deformation and temperature
stresses as well as track deflection. Specifications of the Specific Railway Engineering
Association.
Stations:
Monorail stations for above types can be located at terminal areas such as city centers or airports
and at intermediate points such as bus terminals or shopping centers. They can be above or
below ground, in the center or along the side of a street.
Power:
Almost all modern monorails are powered by electric motors fed by dual third rails, contact
wires or electrified channels attached to or enclosed in their guidance beams. However, diesel-
powered monorail systems also exist. Historically, some systems, such as the Lartigue Monorail,
used steam locomotives.
Grades:
Rubber-tired monorails are typically designed to cope with 6% grade.
Cost:
While capital costs can be as much as or more than light rail, monorail can turn a profit once
built. The Tokyo Monorail (above) is operated by a private business and turns a profit each year.
This is unheard of with conventional rail or bus systems. The Seattle Monorail also turns a profit
each year.
Efficiency:
Monorails regularly operate at an amazing 99.9% reliability. No other form of transit can touch
that number. The rubber tires get little wear running on smooth guideways. Typically, each load
tire gets over 100,000 miles of travel before being replaced. Walt Disney World has a total of 12
trains and during peak seasons at least 10 are on the beamway serving passengers 17 hours a day.
There are even times when all 12 trains are operating, sometimes carrying over 200,000
passengers a day.

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Safety:
Take a good look at this picture. Then tell us what the probability of a monorail ever colliding
with an automobile, truck or school bus is. Monorails run on an exclusive grade-separated
guideway. The result Accidents are extremely rare. The way monorails are designed also makes
derailments virtually impossible. This is why Monorails have an excellent safety record.

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CHAPTER 5: ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES AND

APPLICATIONS
ADVANTAGES:
 Monorail can be built faster with less cost.

 It consumes minimal space to construct.

 For cities that have a population of less than three million, monorail is the ideal mode of
transport. For denser cities, monorail can ideally serve as feeder line that brings passengers
in and takes them out of the metro network.

 The monorail itself uses no carbon based fuels and so does not pollute unlike cars and buses.

 As monorails run around elevated tracks there is no risk of cars getting stuck on crossings.

 Monorails are also practically silent, as opposed to trains which makes a noise travelling
along rails.

 Monorail contributed to a greener environment as it helps in removing vehicles from the

road.

 Monorails regularly operate at an amazing 99.9% reliability. No other form of transit can
touch that number. The rubber tires get little wear running on smooth guide ways. Typically,
each load tire gets over 100000 miles of travel before being replaced.

DISADVANTAGES
 If a section of track needs to be replaced, the entire system needs to be shut down resulting
in no service.
 Without electricity it cannot be run.
 Monorail tracks do not easily accommodate at grade intersections.
 Limited passenger capacity.

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APPLICATIONS

Industrial Monorails:
The largest use of monorail principles exists in today's industry. These suspended systems
feature many special devices for assembly line production. There are dipping machines for
enameling and painting, transfer bridges for floor to floor movement, lift a and drop sections for
passing obstructions, turntables and switches for variable routing, elevators for heavy loads,
scales for weighing and other automatic equipment.

Military Monorails:
The accuracy and efficiency of modern bombing necessitates dispersed storage areas of smaller
size in the future. It is claimed that a small portable monorail could make possible such
dispersion, could be easily built with hand tools and could alleviate the need for clearing a right-
of-way.

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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION
With the increase in the construction technology of Monorail it can reduce the use of city
buses in narrow and busy road and will provide comfort to the passengers because of its
suitability in the congested areas. As it connects the arteries and veins of the city and proves to
be environmental friendly it is going to replace various modes of transportation which affects
environment. With the increase in the population it is necessary for the advancement of transport
technology in order to provide systematic way of transportation in the future for which monorail
will be the best alternative.

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REFERENCES
1. K. Kera et al., “Next generation needs of Railway Systems and Hitachi’s Approaches”,
Hitachi Hyoron 81, pp. 208-214 (Mar. 1999) in Japan.
2. K. Ishikawa et al., “Straddle Type Monorail as a Leading Medium Scale Intercity Traffic
System for the 21st century,” Hitachi Hyoron 81, pp. 227-230 (Mar. 1999) in Japan.
3. T. Kuwabara et al., “New Solution For Urban Trafffic: Small Type Monorail System,”
Hitachi Hyoron 83, pp. 519-522 (Aug. 2001) in Japan.
4. Japan Monorail Association (JMA),” Research on Urban Monorails Corresponding to
Actual demand,” (May 2000) in Japan.
5. Anderson. S. D et al., 1999, Constructability issues for Highway Projects, Journal of
Management in Engineering, May/June, 60-68.

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