Monorail?

Whenever I have brought this up on other forums, others tend to have very strong feelings about it on both ends. Some feel it is a gimmick and ineffici

ent, others feel it is the greatest thing to happen to transit since the wheel. Unfortunately, between these two opposites, a rational and realistic view on monorails tend to be overlooked.

Monorails are a fantastic way to introduce grade separated transit into urban areas, all at a fraction of the cost of tunneling. It is significantly more expensive than at-grade light rail and bus ROWs, so along moderate use corridors it is not feasable. Unfortunately, when monorail is proposed it tends to be along these kinds of corridors, so what ends up happening is that light rail ends up being chosen and monorail continues to keep its stereotype of being failed technology, gimmick transit, etc. However, along corridors such as Eglinton and Queen, monorail may be a perfect fit.

And yes, monorails do have high capacities. Hitachi has built numerous systems that have capacities of 300,000+ per day and trains that can carry approximately 1000 passengers.