Shonan Monorail Photo Essay
page two of three
The controls of a Mitsubishi Safege monorail train. The "throttle"
arm is missing because the driver is using it at the other end
of the train. Trains change direction at each end of the line.
The brake is the lever on the left. Doors are at each end for
train-to-train evacuations (which to our knowledge has never occurred
in well over 30 years of safe operation).
Acceleration is quick and smooth, faster than light rail. And
of course street traffic isn't an obstacle.
Banking is caused by the natural swing as trains run through curves.
Go ahead, run a trolley line down this street and see what happens!
Also: note that red light-running is ok for monorail. Note the
interesting "bent" supports beyond the train, built
where support location had to be squeezed in.
I did say this is a narrow corridor, didn't I?
David videos and Ken looks on as a train enters one of the split
track stations. This is where trains pass each other so that only
one beam is necessary for operation. Timing must be absolutely
perfect for this to work, but this isn't a problem for the Japanese. NEXT>>>
Shonan Special one / two / three
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