SC and GA develop advanced Monobeam Transit

[RiverwoodCLT]

Is this the type of monrail Bruton Smith is talking about? What would be the cost per mile? Looks like it has good speed.

[K6-III]

I'm not seeing how they plan to deal with switching with such a system.

Transfer stations are another big question mark.

[jfl25]

This appears to be a good system that will minimize the need for excess right of ways.This system could be the solution to mass transit problems and If the companys can get one up and running i'm sure that citys will start to recognise the possibilities.

[urbanaturalist]

Yeah, that monobeam concept appears to substantially reduce costs of building two rail lines. Still they are probably better suited for single metropolitan areas and not metro to metro traffic. I'm more interested in seeing maglev trains which can top 400 mph for intercity traffic from say atlanta to charlotte or atlanta to birmingham. 70-100 mph is ok for a monobeam in the city and suburbs, but save the the superfast beotchs of maglev technology for travel between large metros.

[monsoon]

maglev trains are not economically viable. We won't see them here in the next 50 years.

[NcSc74]

Well to tell you about Vegas there is staunch opposition to LRT or any other type of rail transit. Seems that the NIMBYs have a large following here. They say they don't want the noise or the "undesirables" wandering around the stations. Vegas is a paradox. For one this city is built on the premise to take money from anyone but want to limit where the people migrate. The only initiative it seems to pass here is a BRT. I think the leaders here just want to grow no matter how bad the sprawl and smog gets.

[mahanakorn]

Seems this technology would be really useful for building low-cost spurs and loops off of existing systems to big traffic generators (e.g. shopping centers, airports, sports facilities), especially in congested areas where streetcars and busses just add to congestion.

[dpbaker]

I think this system is very cool. But a 1/4 scale version is one thing, a fully operational, full-scale test unit I think would make transit officials take a more serious look at it. I know it'd be terribly expensive to do, but it could pay off. I for one would prefer to see this rather than approve a full scale installation without testing behind it. Others have also expressed concerns about the particular stresses of a cantilever system on the components and beamway that wouldn't necessarily be an issue with a straddlebeam. Nonetheless, I personally think there is potential here. I'd ride it!

[lammius]

In the event of an emergency are you going to hop out onto the beam and run to the next station?

[Scott]

How would one of these stand up to extreme weather. Would it be operational in a snow storm?