The Victorian Monorail Proposal

Posted in Models by Ferne Edwards on August 28th, 2008

The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #74, 26 August 2008, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar, www.goingsolar.com.au/transport. This newsletter provides an excellent commentary on local sustainable transport issues in Melbourne.

Victorian Monorail Proposal
“German company ThyssenKrupp Transrapid has proposed the construction of a maglev monorail between Geelong and Frankston, with connections to Melbourne and Avalon airports, that would travel at an average speed of 275km/h and possibly up to 500km/h in rural areas. Its proponents say the monorail would reduce the Geelong-Melbourne commute to just 20 minutes.”
Ref: F R Perry & Associates, July Newsletter, 2008

Ref and Submission to Eddington:
http://210.15.220.118/ewlna_submissions/EastWestResponse_100708_ThyssenKruppTransrapidAustralia.pdf

“The consortium’s submission said the monorail would: Hover above the track using magnetic levitation; Reach speeds of 500km/h in rural areas; Silently cruise at 250km/h in urban areas; and, Operate safer and cleaner than normal rail transport. But the submission also revealed considerable cost - calculated to be about $4 billion per 100km of double rail lines.”
Ref: Martin Watters, Herald Sun, 30/7/08

“For half the price of the planned rail tunnel Transrapid can build a high-speed monorail from Geelong to the Airport to Frankston - more than 100km. However, maglev track takes up far more space than a conventional ALWEG monorail so should only be routed down existing freeway easements. The CBD - Frankston section of a Maglev could only run down St. Kilda Road and Nepean Highway which is likely to be unacceptable.”
Ref: New Australia www.newaustralia.net/significant_subs.html

Tags: monorail, rail, transport
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