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I say we put the whole damn city on top of one big rail. Time lost to "Commuting" will be eliminated, since everyone will always already be "on the train", all the time. Anyone entering the city limits will have to pay $3.00 ($2.20 for seniors and students). "It's not a toll," we can explain. "You have to buy a ticket." Cash flow and gridlock problems solved in one fell swoop! YOU'RE WELCOME
 
Justin10000 said:
Monorails play a very small role in Japan, compared to rail. Monorails do have a place servicing areas where it would be expensive to build rail due to terrain, however even in Japan, that criteria is limited. The last Monorail Japan built was in Naha in 2003, and I have not heard of any expansions since then. The Japanese government did unveill a Light Rail development program in 2006, to install "Advanced Light Rail systems(streetcars) in 10 Cities by 2016. You're going to have to look for the article yourself. It was in the Japan Times paper, August 2006. The town of Toyoma opened a "tram-train line in 2006, and it seems to be extending ridership projections. It seems those "impractical Japanese" have discovered Light Rail, and are moving in that direction!
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Yay, unabridged propaganda from LRTnow, with complementary typo. If you are going to quote from there, at least try to look up what happened since 2006. Other than Toyama (not Toyoma) and Matsue making some progress in construction or planning, LRT in most other cities are being delayed, shelved for bus expansions, cancelled, or otherwise going nowhere.

Since Naha Yui opened in 2003, Tokyo and Osaka monorails underwent extensions in 2004 and 2007 respectively. And in the previous decade, significant new lines and expansions were made in both the Tokyo and Osaka areas. Many of these networks still have more expansion plans in the works. Sure monorails will always have a smaller role than conventional rail, but in the Tokyo metro at least, monorail has, and will have, significantly bigger role than LRT for years and decades to come.

I love LRT, and they have their place where the implementation works. But the bottomline is, the Japanese recognize the niche where each mode has their advantage (eg, LRT for frequent-stop, city centre urban rail) and recognize that monorail has a legitimate role as an alternative form of true rapid transit, and not deride it as some "pie-in-the-sky" amusement park ride.

(Of course, none of this means I necessarily support the idea of introducing monorail in Toronto)
 
Jonny5 said:
Why go backward to monorail, when we can go forward to quadrarail.
Toronto should lead the world and build the first four-rail train network.
You think GO has monster cars now, think double width and quadruple deck.
You could have trains carrying 10,000 people!
Then we'll be the envy of the world.
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Please.... we cant even find money in this city to fund the proposed LRT lines
 
Yeah, can we stop acting like the biggest problem facing Toronto's transit system is technology choice? It doesn't matter what you're planning to build if you have no money to build it.
 
That's the benefits of Monorail. It ca be built very fast and is extremely affordable even compared to Light Rail.
All this bitching about funds and Toronto could have 100km of mass transit by 2016. Alas by 2016 all Toronto will have is a 6km subway extension. One thing I'll say about Toronto is that it's consistent. For the last 30 years Toronto has consistently expanded by 6km/decade.
 
ssiguy2 said:
That's the benefits of Monorail. It ca be built very fast and is extremely affordable even compared to Light Rail.
All this bitching about funds and Toronto could have 100km of mass transit by 2016. Alas by 2016 all Toronto will have is a 6km subway extension. One thing I'll say about Toronto is that it's consistent. For the last 30 years Toronto has consistently expanded by 6km/decade.
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Do you have any awareness of urban issues *beyond* public transportation? After all, in order to "build very fast", you'd have to take a draconian screw-environmental-assessment-and-community-consultation approach--basically, you'd have to turn back time to before Stop-The-Spadina ...
 
To deride Toronto for not having Monorail is like deriding Toronto for not having enough women on the streets who look like this
art-heavy-metal-08.jpg
 
Hey, I wasn't aware that Tila Tequila dug the Cradle of Filth/Dimmu Borgir scene! :cool:

Ssiguy: Toronto needs long-distance Cross-town RT, which monorail is ill-equipped to provide.
 
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If Monorail isn't equipped then streetcars sure aren't but don't take my word for take the TC manderines. They know LRT will not be up to snuff in 20 years so they are building the streetcar underground sections to eventually be converted to subway.
 
Elevated Monorail: Cheaper construction than other elevated options and the cheaper rolling stock is slower and has less capacity. Guideways without emergency walkways are only practical when low capacity vehicles are used. When high capacity vehicles are used a walkway must be installed to meet our safety codes which makes the structure look like a one lane overpass (an eyesore for any urban environment). Even without the emergency escape walkway the road widths where grade separated LRT was being proposed is quite thin and obstructing any amount of sky would make the area look dark and uninviting. On these streets there is a push to put hydro wires underground to reduce the blight so I doubt anyone will take too kindly to taking down wires only to have them replaced by huge pylons and girders.
Surface Monorail: More expensive tracks than surface LRT with no advantages over surface LRT.
Subway Monorail: More expensive tracks than subway LRT with no advantages over subway LRT.

There is a place in the city where monorail would make sense... at the airport running from Eglinton and Renforth to T1 to either GO Malton or a GO station near Woodbine Raceway. It makes sense here because there is no urban environment which will be negatively impacted by the elevated structure since the area is filled with highway ramps, industrial use, and open spaces. An elevated LRT or subway over the 401, over the many airport access ramps, over Airport Road, over the 427, and possibly over the Georgetown corridor will be more expensive as a non-monorail option.
 
I'm no fan of monorail but I find the ridiculing of a monorail enthusiast to be a bit disturbing and mean. I don't like seeing people getting ganged up on and bullied. It's almost an affront to my humanity. But maybe I'm just overreacting.
 
Well he did post pro-monorail comments in multiple threads while ripping apart the city for not thinking straight. Once you say other people "don't get it" you open yourself up to people attacking you for "not getting it". There is a way to bring up options without being on the attack.
 
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