Monorail can safely share space with
a bike path or walking trail which is
not true with surface rail or BRT
where cars and pedestrians
are at risk all the time.
Monorail also has a
perfect safety record
when it comes to
collisions with any
other vehicle.
n
n
n
27.5-inch-wide concrete beam regardless of topography.
No individual bridge or tunnel designs
are required. According to the contractor that
completed the construction of the system in Sao
Paulo, Brazil, monorail’s construction costs can
be determined within 95 percent accuracy simply
knowing the two points it goes between. When
anything is standardized, cost and complexity are
reduced.
Stations: Monorail is the only transit system that
can penetrate habitable space, a la Disney Hotel in
Orlando. Stations can be integrated into the designs
of commercial development without taking
up additional land. Lots of cost savings here and
many costs can be shifted to developers.
Capacity: Another important detail to consider is
how many people per hour per direction (pphpd)
a system can carry. While the Purple Line will max
out at 9,000 pphpd. Monorail maxes out at 40,000
pphpd.
Reliability: Unaffected by traffic or weather,
monorail has an excellent/exceptional reliability
record.
Taking all of these findings together, the Foundation’s
study determined that the Purple Line could
have been built twice as fast and could have saved
$500 million dollars in cost if it had been a monorail.
Since we started the Purple Line construction as
light rail, however, we need to finish it as light rail. But
as we look for solutions for removing commuter traffic,
development pressure, and storm water runoff from
the Agricultural Reserve, we should consider a new
approach to our transportation challenges in the I-270
Corridor. That new approach, we believe, is monorail.
Stay tuned and stay involved in the Corridor Forward
I-270 Plan by MNCPPC. Here is the link: https://
bit.ly/2Xf0uHl
Robert Eisinger is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County,
MD. His alma maters include American University and George
Washington University, and he holds a B.S. in Finance from
Indiana University, Bloomington. As Principal and Managing
Member, Robert O. Eisinger oversees all aspects of Promark
Partners’ daily operations and its investment portfolio. Mr.
Eisinger’s career has encompassed all aspects of commercial
real estate development, investment and management.
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