A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole

support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or
the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track. The term originates from the contraction of the
words mono (single) and rail, from as early as 1897[1] as early systems used metal rails. The
transportation system is often referred to as a railway.[2] In contrast, a light rail system has two
rails sharing support of the train which also share the responsibility of guiding the
train.Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used erroneously to describe any form any
elevated rail or peoplemover.[3] In fact, the term solely refers to the style of track, not
itselevation.A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as
its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the
system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track. The term originates from the
contraction of the words mono (single) and rail, from as early as 1897[1] as early systems used
metal rails. The transportation system is often referred to as a railway.[2] In contrast, a light rail
system has two rails sharing support of the train which also share the responsibility of guiding
the train.Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used erroneously to describe any form any
elevated rail or peoplemover.[3] In fact, the term solely refers to the style of track, not its
elevation.Advantages

• The primary advantage of monorails over conventional rail systems is that they require
minimal space, both horizontally and vertically. Monorail vehicles are wider than the
beam, and monorail systems are commonly elevated, requiring only a minimal footprint
for support pillars.
• A monorail track is usually less expensive to build than a comparable elevated
conventional rail line of equal capacity.
• Due to a smaller footprint they are seen as more attractive than conventional elevated rail
lines and block only a minimal amount of sky.
• Monorail is, by design, a grade-separated system. They do not interfere with existing
transport modes.
• They are quieter, as modern monorails use rubber wheels on a concrete track (though
some non-monorail subway systems, like certain lines of the Paris Métro and all of the
Montreal metro and Mexico City metro, use the same technique and are equally quiet)
• Unlike conventional rail systems, straddle monorails wrap around their track and are thus
not physically capable of derailing, unless the track itself suffers a catastrophic failure.
• Rubber-tired monorails can grip track on both sides and thus climb steeper grades better
than ordinary trains, with Hitachi monorails designed to cope with 6% grade
•
• Disadvantages

• Monorail vehicles are not compatible with any other type of rail infrastructure, which
makes (for example) through services onto mainline tracks impossible.
• Monorail tracks do not easily accommodate at-grade intersections.
• In an emergency, passengers may not be able to immediately exit because an elevated
monorail vehicle is high above ground and not all systems have emergency walkways.
The passengers must sometimes wait until a rescue train, fire engine or a cherry picker
comes to the rescue. Newer monorail systems resolve this by building emergency
walkways alongside the entire track, at the expense of visual intrusion. Suspended
 railways resolve this by building aircraft style evacuation slides into the vehicles.
Japanese systems use the next train to tow broken down trains to the next station, but this
has yet to occur.[citation needed]
• Turnouts, especially at high speeds, may be marginally more difficult compared to
conventional railway points, although certainly not impossible.
• Monorail infrastructure and vehicles are often made by separate manufacturers, with
different manufacturers using incompatible designs.