Useful Monorail Links
Monorails are a fascinating form of transportation, combining engineering innovation with unique urban and recreational applications. From historic experimental systems to modern high-speed lines, monorails have been implemented around the world in a variety of designs, including ALWEG, Safege, and suspended systems.
The following collection of links provides a comprehensive guide to notable monorail projects, historical references, technical information, and multimedia resources. Whether you are a transportation enthusiast, a researcher, or simply curious about these elevated rail systems, this list offers access to official websites, historical archives, videos, and detailed photo galleries from countries including Germany, Japan, China, the United States, Iran, and South Korea.
Explore the evolution of monorail technology, see examples of both urban transit and theme park lines, and discover the global diversity of monorail systems through these valuable resources.
Monorail Systems
- Bologna Marconi Express. Airport to rail station shuttle using solar power, in Italian.
- Chiba Monorail. World’s first dual-guideway Safege system, in Japanese.
- Chongqing Monorail. Mostly in Chinese. Many art renderings and construction photos of China’s 1st Alweg-type monorail.
- Daegu Monorail. South Korea’s first major monorail system.
- Dortmund, Germany
– The H-Bahn at Dortmund University of Technology.
– Dortmund H-Bahn
– H-Bahn Video
The site is in German and it has terrific illustrations and photographs of this suspended monorail built by Siemens. - Düsseldorf Sky-Train. Siemens suspended monorail connects terminal, parking and rail.
- Jacksonville Skyway. Bombardier UMIII monorail system in Florida coastal city.
- Kitakyushu Monorail. Official site of first high-floor monorail system, in Japanese.
- Lartigue Monorailway. History of the Ballybunion-Listowel system and featuring the restored train and track.
- Las Vegas Monorail. Official site of the Bombardier M-VI system.
- Newark AirTrain. Monorail link from Newark International Airport to Amtrak station.
- Okinawa Monorail. Newest monorail in Japan (in Japanese).
- Osaka Monorail. Japanese site with some good pictures.
- Qom Monorail – Mapna Group Qom Monorail – Kayson Inc.
Iran’s first major monorail system. - Seattle Center Monorail. Seattle’s classic Alweg.
- Shonan Monorail. World’s first Safege monorail system.
- Tama Monorail. Alweg-based system that has negotiates very interesting terrain. In Japanese.
- Tokyo Disney Resort Line. The largest Disney monorail trains in the world.
- Tokyo Monorail. In English and Japanese. Includes some terrific pictures.
- Wuppertal Schwebebahn. Official website of the classic suspended railway.
- Wuppertal Schwebebahn. Behind the scenes images from Peter Bosbach.
- Wuppertal Schwebebahn by Daniel A. Rehbein. A wonderful assortment of photos in several sizes, including behind-the-scene shop pictures.
Technology Approaches
- ALWEG website. A wonderful site about the history of the original concrete beam monorail, by Reinhard Krischer. ALWEG Bahn. In German, includes many new images from original test tracks.
- Futrex System 21. Monobeam system, one-third scale test track developed.
- Lartigue Monorailway. History of the Ballybunion-Listowel system and featuring the restored train and track.
- RUF System. Drive a special car onto monorail track and speed to your destination. In Japanese.
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monorail
Other Organizations
- American Monorail Project. Organized to create a monorail industry in the USA.
- Japan Monorail Association. In Japanese.
- Monorail Society: http://monorails.org/
- Monorail Society YouTube Channel. Video; lots of it!