News Brief Archives

Seattle gets interim director (8/18/05)
Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Monorail Project Board of Directors has appointed veteran transportation expert John Haley to become the project's Interim Executive Director. Haley is being retained through a contract with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he is a Principal. "This is a big step forward for rapid transit in our city," said Board Member Cleve Stockmeyer, who chaired the Board's Search Committee. "He has experience with BART in the Bay Area, the D.C. Metro, and the Las Vegas Monorail." The Seattle project staff and directors have been struggling with how to build the system despite shortages in motor vehicle tax revenues. The tax was established to pay for the monorail. "The Monorail is the most exciting transportation project in the country right now," said Haley. "Although there are serious challenges, there is also a tremendous opportunity for this city to get the agency moving in the right direction. I believe that with a reasonable finance plan and project approach, this project can work and that the Monorail Green Line will be an important part of Seattle's rapid transit system." Among several problem-solving achievements in his resume, Haley helped the Las Vegas Monorail recover from its glitch-troubled first months of operation. Haley will be in the SMP offices starting August 24.

Transportation pro to lead monorail temporarily. Seattle P-I, 8/17/05.

Monorail wins debate in Delhi (8/9/05)
Delhi, India. The Delhi government has ended a heated debate over rail technology with the selection of monorail for a 60-km feeder system to several stations of the existing Delhi Metro system. Delhi transport minister Haroon Yusuf said, "it is final that we will introduce monorail. It is a good system and we are just about to finalize details of the finance model. Our consultant is working out whether we should have a public-private partnership or put it in private hands. But one thing is absolutely certain ­ monorail has to be introduced." According to the Times of India, government sources indicate a pilot project of up to 15 kilometers will first be built. It's also reported that the first line will serve the historic Walled City area of Delhi.

Delhi goes KL way, opts for monorail. Times of India, 8/9/05.

Best month for Las Vegas Monorail yet (8/9/05)
Las Vegas, Nevada. July was a record breaker for the Las Vegas Monorail, with over one million passengers boarding the system's Bombardier M-VI trains. The daily average was 32,928 passengers. July's farebox totaled $2,945,701, for a daily average of $95,022. Still, the system is short of what is needed to cover $139,000 in daily operating costs and debt service. Operators are confident that will come later this year or early next year. Advertising revenues are estimated to be bringing in an additional $16,000 per day. Curtis Myles, President and CEO of the Las Vegas Monorail Company, said, "I'd expect convention business will pick up later this month and later this fall." If ridership gets over 40,000 a day and approaches 50,000, Myles believes system expansion could be considered. "Hopefully, next year at this time we'll be able to talk about expanding the monorail to the airport," Myles said. The Las Vegas Monorail is currently the best performing new start fixed rail system in North America.

32,928 passengers per day: LV Monorail has best month ever. Las Vegas R-J, 8/9/05

Siemens the latest Jakarta supplier? (8/8/05)
Jakarta, Indonesia. The Jakarta Post is reporting that PT Jakarta Monorail's consortium has now settled on Siemens AG of Germany to provide the technology for the confusing-to-watch project. Siemens is the latest in a series of companies that have been in the running to build the system. Malaysia's MTrans, Japan's Hitachi and Korea's Rotem have all been favored for the system at different times, but reportedly costs and other factors have created a manufacturer musical chairs game. Site preparation began in June of 2004. 2007 is the listed completion date for the first 14.3-km line, yet at this point that date seems highly optimistic. To date, the only rubber-tire monorail technology built by Siemens has been the H-Bahn suspended type monorail in use at Dortmund University and Dusseldorf International Airport in Germany. Siemens also sells an AGT (automated guideway transit) called VAL, a non-monorail peoplemover system. However, according to the Jakarta Post, straddle monorail is still the technology of choice for Jakarta. If so, this would mean Siemens will join the growing ranks of straddle beam monorail providers. Parts for the Jakarta Monorail trains are to be manufactured abroad but assembled in Indonesia.

JM vouches for safety of monorail technology. Jakarta Post, 8/8/05.

Metrail for Bangalore! (8/6/05)
A Monorail Society Exclusive!
Bangalore, India. Metrail has agreed in principle with a local consortium to build a 50-km monorail network in Bangalore. This may turn out to be Metrail's first system for the revolutionary hybrid motor-driven system. A full-scale test track was built several years ago outside of Kuala Lumpur and is featured in The Monorail Society's DVD, Monorails of Malaysia. The Bangalore alignment follows a new ring road through the fastest growing areas of the city, where traffic is currently rising at over 40% per annum. The monorail will run both at grade and elevated, plus the network will be capable of catering for well over 40,000 pphpd as ridership increases. Construction is expected to begin almost immediately following necessary approval and rights of way establishment. Since Metrail requires no electrical infrastructure, construction time is projected to take only 18 to 24 months. The system will be built to the latest European safety standards and will be enable headways to two minutes or less as ridership increases. Metrail technology was developed by United Kindgom-based company Frazer-Nash. Gordon Dixon, Frazer-Nash's Director for Regional Operations, tells us that Metrail is in an advanced state of negotiation for Metrail monorail networks with various parties and authorities in over 30 different locations worldwide! If that isn't enough, they also are interested in the Seattle Monorail Project, should reprocurement become a reality. The Monorail Society congratulations Metrail on the Bangalore agreement. TMS President Kim Pedersen, who had the pleasure of test-driving and inspecting the Metrail prototype in 2003, says "Metrail's lower-cost, high-tech monorail is sure to be within reach of the budgets of far more cities worldwide than other fixed-guideway systems."

TMS Metrail Photo Essay
Metrail website

Team Monorail presents its case (8/3/05)
Seattle, Washington. Last week Cascadia Monorail Company officials made a presentation to the Seattle Monorail Project Board of Directors and urged that their agreed-upon contract be accepted. Tonight, Team Monorail presented its case to the board for a reprocurement process should the Cascadia contract be rejected. Before Team Monorail came to the table and made their presentation, Seattle Monorail Project (SMP) staff spent about an hour telling the history of Team Monorail's previous communications and bid effort for the project, before they dropped out of the competition in August of 2004. Cascadia Monorail Company President Pat Flaherty emphatically stated that the procurement process with with his company should be completed before SMP entertained any possibility of a re-bid process. Team Monorail Project Director Tom Stone laid out a possible scenario for re-opening the bid process. He explained highlights of the Team Monorail proposal by showing slides of their proposed train, guideway, bridges and stations. Stone told the board that Team Monorail's design would allow considerable cost savings over the Cascadia proposal, and he described the project security structure, which has been the source of much debate. A discussion followed including an interesting mix of questions from board members to Team Monorail, their answers and counter statements by Flaherty on behalf of Cascadia. Board Chair Kristina Hill asked Stone about the Team Monorail website as well the ethics of what she termed the "behind-the-scenes lobbying effort for re-bid" on behalf of Team Monorail. Stone replied that they have had no other means of communication with the board for two years. He stated, "If we've done anything wrong, we'll correct it." Staff then explained pros and cons for reprocurement and the meeting closed with comments from interested parties and the public.

Debate on rebidding monorail heats up. Seattle P-I, 8/4/05.

MTrans secures Delhi project (8/3/05)
Delhi, India. Monorail Malaysia Technology Sdn Bhd (MMT) has secured an estimated US$300 million (RM1.12 billion) monorail project in Delhi, India. The project deal is through a 50-50 joint-venture (JV) with Ircon International Ltd, an Indian company linked with the government. MTrans chairman David Chew said, "We will undertake the feasibility study and implementation of a monorail system in Delhi. We have proposed for an initial 15-km of monorail route to be started as a pilot project and the work is to be undertaken on a basis of public-private partnership with the government of India/Government of New Capital Territory of Delhi." Feasibility studies are under way for as much as 60 kilometers of monorail lines in Delhi after the initial line is built. The pilot project is expected to take approximately three years to complete. MTrans built the successful Kuala Lumpur Monorail, based on an updated Seattle Alweg monorail train design. MTrans is said to be currently pursuing monorail projects in twelve countries worldwide.

MTrans to undertake RM 1.12b monorail project in Delhi. The Edge Daily, 8/3/05.
Monorail Signes MoU With Ircon for Delhi Project. Bernama.com, 8/3/05

Putrajaya Monorail Project to resume (7/30/05)
Putrajaya, Malaysia. According to the Malaysian National News Agency, the delayed monorail project in the City of Putrajaya may resume construction. Details are expected to be announced soon by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah. Tunnels already exist down the main corridor of the futuristic Malaysian capital city, which has been under construction for some time. The tunnels were built originally for light rail, but officials were so impressed with Kuala Lumpur's monorail that they decided to switch technology. A monorail-exclusive bridge was built to as part of a connection to a high-speed rail line station. That rail station already has monorail track and a platform constructed above the high-speed line. The first phase of the project will include eight kilometers of combined subway and elevated monorail. The system will be expanded in stages.

Putrajaya Monorail Project To Resume Soon. Bernama.com, 7/31/05.

Hitachi agreement in China (7/29/05)
Chongqing, China. Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsui & Company plan to set up a joint engineering company with Chinese companies to build more monorails. The joint venture will be named Chongqing Monorail Engineering and will be owned mostly by Chinese interests, including the Chongqing government and local state-owned firms, with Hitachi and Mitsui owning 5%. Hitachi technology was used for the new Chongqing Monorail, a 13.5-km system that opened in June. Monorails are getting more attention in China because of their comparative ease of installation.

Hitachi to Set Up Joint Monorail-Engineering Firm With Chinese Firms. Red Nova, 7/28/05.

Cascadia show and tell (7/27/05)
Seattle, Washington. Cascadia Monorail Company made a presentation to the Seattle Monorail Project Board of Directors tonight during their board meeting. The project has been bombarded by critics in the public and press ever since contract details were first revealed in June, largely because of the now-rejected finance plan. Cascadia President Pat Flaherty and Project Manager Jim Devine recounted the history of their efforts to obtain the contract for the 14-mile monorail system and finally had the opportunity to present their case to build the monorail. In response to concerns over station and guideway design, Devine made clear that the process of design is in the early stages. The major design efforts would not begin until the contract is approved, and the public will have numerous occasions to give input. The process that would take place after contract approval was outlined. Devine and Flaherty stressed that public input would be taken throughout that period. One surprise during Cascadia's presentation was that 85% of the controversial iris structures will be eliminated from downtown area. Also, columns have been reduced in size and are now smaller than those of the 1962 Alweg monorail, currently operating on Fifth Avenue. As well as having smaller columns, the structures would also be built to current earthquake standards, which are far more stringent than 45 years ago. Both Flaherty and Devine stated that the Cascadia team is very excited to be part of the Seattle Monorail Project. A concerted effort to improve SMP's "openess" image was demonstrated at tonight's meeting, in which acting Board Chair Kristina Hill invited several concerned citizens to the table to ask Cascadia questions, including well-known monorail critics.

New consultant holds out hope for monorail project. Seattle P-I, 7/28/05.
Monorail meeting raises questions. Seattle P-I, 7/28/05.

Big ideas in Canberra (7/24/05)
Canberra, Australia. A consortium of Canberra architects, planners and engineers, backed by a large Singapore-based financier willing to invest up to $1.2 billion, lodged a "Moving our Future" transportation improvement concept with planning authorities late last week. Wan Sin Import & Export Agencies, the Singapore financier, is one of the companies that backed the Shanghai Maglev project. The Canberra proposals includes road improvements and monorail links between Civic, Belconnen, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong and Woden. Project manager Chris Young- Wright said, "This is a transport-generated solution to Civic's planning crisis. And, importantly, we have the money to back it." The Canberra plan would utilize non-maglev "conventional" monorail technology. The Canberra Central task force will consider the Move our Future proposal as well as others.

Plan for civic monorail. Canberra Times, 7/22/05.

Seattle Monorail Project action plan (7/20/05)
Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Monorail Project Board approved a Monorail Action Plan tonight that lays out possible steps for the project's future. The plan involves 60-90 days of in-depth work sessions. During the sessions, Board members will hear from independent experts, consultants, staff, Cascadia Monorail Company representatives, critics, and the general public on key issues facing the 14-mile monorail project. Acting Board Chair Kristina Hill said, "Our objective is simple: to challenge our assumptions, ask the tough questions, listen to the public ­ and determine the best path forward for the monorail." The board will consider possibilities including: reworking the financing plan and/or contract scope for the proposed agreement with Cascadia Monorail Company, re-opening the procurement process, merging with another transit agency, evaluating the possibility of a new vote or ending the project altogether. The monorail project has been in crisis mode since a financial plan to build the system was rejected by the board earlier this month after wide spread criticism. While the board is stating that it is open to all ideas, strong influence is expected from those who stand to benefit from the project moving forward, including members of the Cascadia Monorail team. The team includes Washington-based Howard S. Wright Construction and RCI Construction Group. The King County Labor Council would also like to see the project move forward since the Cascadia contract includes work for local union subcontractors. A re-bid process is favored by Team Monorail, which proposes lighter trains, less-imposing structures and potentially a cheaper-to-build system. "All options are on the table and all views will be considered," Hill said. "We welcome constructive, respectful input. We are committed to a thoughtful, deliberate and open public process. After all, this is the people's monorail."

Monorail Mantra: Everything is open to discussion. KOMO TV, 7/19/05.
Officials consider phased in monorail. Seattle Times, 7/20/05.
New monorail vote at issue. Seattle P-I, 7/20/05.
Seattle Monorail Project website

Las Vegas-one year milestone (7/18/05)
Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Monorail is one year old. The anniversary passed by quietly on Friday, a stark contrast to the spectacular grand opening one year ago. However, on Tuesday the monorail will celebrate a new milestone with considerably more fanfare, the signing of a deal with BankWest of Nevada. Pyrotechnics and special effects will highlight the July 19th VIP unveiling of the new BankWest of Nevada train. As part of the agreement, the bank will install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at each of the seven monorail stations along the four-mile system. "BankWest of Nevada and the Las Vegas Monorail share a similar goal in making Las Vegas and all of Southern Nevada a better place to live, work and visit," said Larry Woodrum, president and chief executive officer of BankWest of Nevada. "When the monorail ATM network and advertising opportunity was presented to us, we did everything possible to make it happen quickly because we realized it was an ideal way to contribute to the community and further enhance awareness and growth of the bank." The bank will also unveil a new outdoor billboard ad campaign featuring the monorail and their new red train. A sweepstakes will also begin to give away ten lifetime monorail passes. The monorail has greatly improved its performance reliability this year, after a rough start in 2004. With a reliability of 99.3% since December, the monorail is said to be the best performing new start fixed rail system in North America. Ridership has steadily grown and it is expected to grow as ridership stimulus programs are put into effect, including advance ticket convention packages, wayfinding signs located within the resorts, and seamless linkages between the fare collection system and the resort guest portfolios. Monorail expansion is still in the works and options include a downtown extension, a line from The Strip to McCarran International Airport, and a line servicing the west side of The Strip.

BankWest of Nevada monorail announcement page

Leadership shake up in Seattle (7/4/05)
Seattle, Washington. Joel Horn, the Seattle Monorail Project Executive Director, and Tom Weeks, Chairman of the Board, today stepped down from their positions with the Seattle Monorail Project (SMP). The project has been under fire since a fixed-price contract was delivered two weeks ago to design, built, operate and maintain the 14-mile Ballard-downtown-West Seattle monorail. In a statement, Horn and Weeks said, "The agreement, however, was overshadowed by the interest costs of the finance plan.  Though we tried to explain the complex, long-term financing proposal, and called for apples-to-apples comparisons with other major regional transportation projects, the Board and the people of Seattle have made it clear that the proposed financing plan will not work and that a better plan must be developed. We take full responsibility for the current situation and feel that it is in the best interest of the Project to step down." They went on to say, "We want what's best for Seattle and we firmly believe that we owe it to our children, our grandchildren and the environment to build the Monorail - the right Monorail with the right financing plan.  There is a path forward, and we're confident that the dedicated and hardworking Seattle Monorail Project Board and staff can meet this challenge." The full statement is on the Seattle Monorail Project website.

Monorail leaders resign. Seattle Times, 7/4/05.
Monorail leaders resign amidst controversy. Seattle P-I, 7/4/05.

Seattle monorail financing nixed (7/1/05)
Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Monorail Project (SMP) board last night killed the Green Line's finance plan. Board member Cleve Stockmeyer said, "This plan just won't fly." The decision comes after a storm of criticism from monorail opponents, press and even monorail backers. The plan was controversial because it could have required the continuation of taxation to 2050 and required $9 billion in principal and interest payments. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said, "Before the monorail can move forward, the board must ensure that the financial plan and technical design are sound and have the public's full confidence." A new ad hoc committee will explore possible monorail project finance options. "We've clearly heard from the Board as well as the public that we need to rethink the financing plan," said Joel Horn, SMP's executive director. "Our team will work with the Board to support its efforts to examine these important issues." Seattle Monorail Project today said it will extend the public comment period on the proposed agreement to build the Monorail Green Line beyond the original July 11 deadline. The Seattle grass-roots monorail movement began in the early 1990s when TMS member Dick Falkenbury gathered signatures to put a monorail proposal on the ballot. Voters in four separate elections have since approved the monorail. Opponents have used the financing controversy to try kill the project.

Monorail finance plan abandoned. Seattle Times, 7/1/05.
Monorail financing plan killed. Seattle P-I, 7/1/05
Seattle Monorail Project website

Two station extension for Kuala Lumpur (6/30/05)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Officials of the popular Kuala Lumpur Monorail plan to add approximately two kilometers of track to their 8.6 km system. The line will run from their southern terminal station near KL Sentral rail station. Since day one, an unwanted flaw for the monorail has been the one block of walking distance between that station and the busy transportation hub. A short distance of new track will bring the monorail right to the doorstep of KL Sentral. Beyond KL Sentral, the new line will be extended to a giant shopping complex known as Mid Valley Megamall. Ridership is currently averaging 45,000 passengers per day. Because of the popularity of KL Sentral and Mid Valley Megamall, monorail officials hope for a giant increase in ridership to 80,000 rides per day. The extension will integrate trains, buses, taxis and park-and-ride facilities. Plans are to open the extension within two years. In other news from Malaysia, MTrans Holdings, builders of the Kuala Lumpur monorail, has entered into an agreement with Ircon International, the construction arm of Indian Railways, to work together on the development of several monorail projects in India.

Monorail City to build two more stations. Malaysian National News Agency, 6/30/05.
Monorails of Malaysia DVD
TMS Exclusive: Kuala Lumpur Monorail Essay

Seattle debate rages on (6/28/05)
Seattle, Washington. As expected, the release of the Cascadia-Seattle Monorail Project contract details has brought on a torrent of debate over the project. Financing and technical aspects of the project are being hotly debated. Getting the most attention is the price Seattleites would pay to get the 14-mile monorail from Ballard to West Seattle. Although the fixed-price contract with Cascadia to build the monorail is $1.6 billion, the number being bandied about by the press and opponents is $11 billion, the total Seattle citizens will pay including interest over almost half a century. The financing problem comes about from the need to make up for lower than expected revenues from the car tax established for the monorail project. With the constant drumbeat of "$11 billion!," public and government support for the project has eroded. Then there are the details of the Cascadia proposal. Slender column designs of yesterday's promotional are renderings are now replaced with the reality of massive structures and track to support Hitachi's monorail technology. Even some monorail supporters were aghast at the site of renderings and diagrams of what could be called echos of 1960's brutalism architecture. The monorail trains are also near-carbon copies of trains in Japan, which surprised some who expected updated and Americanized exteriors. Seizing the moment to try to get back in the game, Cascadia competitor Team Monorail posted a comparison of its proposed system vs. Cascadia's system on the Team Monorail website. Cascadia Monorail, on the other hand, has remained relatively quiet as it awaits the Seattle Monorail Project Board of Director's decision on whether to accept the contract or not. Seattle Popular Monorail Authority officials have faced the press in a determined fashion to gain more support for the monorail plan, but the news articles from the past week don't look good for monorail backers...

Monorail: another Kingdome? Seattle Times, 6/22/05.
New monorail tab hits hard. Seattle P-I, 6/23/05.
State Treasurer says halt monorail. Seattle Times, 6/23/05.
Monorail: a disaster in the making. Seattle P-I, 6/25/05.
Four monorail votes don't add up. Seattle Times, 6/26/05.
Council should scrutinize monorail. Seattle P-I, 6/27/05.
City raises alert over monorail risks. Seattle P-I, 6/28/05
Majority of City Council now troubled by monorail. Seattle Times, 6/28/05.
Whoops goes the monorail. Seattle Times, 6/28/05.
Team Monorail touts its competing construction plan. Puget Sound Business Journal, 6/28/05.
Monorail Project: Board must say no. Seattle P-I, 6/29/05.
Seattleites want and need a monorail. Seattle P-I, 6/29/05.
Kids love trains. Seattle Weekly, 6/29/05.
Monorail agency speaks up for itself. Seattle P-I, 6/29/05.
Monorail backers launch offensive to ease rising anxiety about project. Seattle Times, 6/29/05.

Seattle Monorail Project website

Seattle contract details released (6/20/05)
Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Popular Monorail Authority (SPMA) has released details of the recently completed negotiations with Cascadia Monorail Company. The official release of the contract information came tonight at the Seattle Monorail Board of Directors meeting. On display were images of what system elements may look like, a model of the Hitachi-technology train to be used, and a huge stack of paper (the contract!). The Seattle Green Line Monorail will use an updated version of the Okinawa Monorail train. Thirteen two-car trains are part of the initial contract, with options for system expansion in the future. Single-beaming will be used on the West Seattle Bridge, as well as in West Seattle and Ballard. The much-debated financing of the monorail project was also discussed at the meeting. The board will likely vote on whether to issue a notice to proceed on the contract in August.

Seattle Monorail Project website (includes Contract Details Center)
Cascadia Monorail website
Hitachi Monorail website
The Monorail Society Okinawa Photo Essay Six pages of TMS-exclusive photos from Okinawa
Monorail within cost limits. Seattle P-I, 6/21/05.
New monorail plan released; now you can have your say. Seattle Times, 6/21/05.