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Darling Harbour People Mover Submission – Von Roll Monorail System

INTRODUCTION

For nearly a century, the name Von Roll has been linked with transportation systems for passenger and material handling. 1600 Von Roll Habegger transportation systems are moving over 1 million passengers a year worldwide.

The advantages of a monorail People Mover for areas such as Darling Harbour are well understood but principally monorails provide an excellent orientation ride through a recreation area and complement existing suburban rail, bus and proposed ferry transport. The monorail also provides an efficient link between car parks and recreation area.

Monorails may be considered friendly and sympathetic to the environment. They fulfill their function with safety and comfort. The operate efficiently without pollution and their use of space, particularly public street space is highly efficient with only minimal use of column supports. Visual impact is small and the general appearance is pleasing.

The Von Roll Habegger  “People Mover” is a true monorail – an “on one rail” system using rubber tyred drive and guide wheels to provide smooth and quiet ride characteristics. The single rail track and column supports are small and visually unobtrusive and tight radius track bends can be used.

Since it was founded in 1823, Von Roll AG – a publicly held company with a broad capital stock basis – has evolved into a diversified group of companies.

Today, it is one of the leading enterprises within the Swiss metalworking and machine industry. In more than 20 production facilities, the company employs 5833 persons and operates a worldwide organisation.

The staff of Von Roll Habegger includes transportation specialists with considerable expertise and know-how in monorail engineering, such as design, construction, service and maintenance.

The system of technology is not particularly sophisticated or specialised but is based on sound well proven engineering which provides extreme reliability.

 

APPENDIX VIII

R E F E R E N C E S  –  M O N O R A I L

(Note: The entries 1 – 19 in the table below are reproduced from data provided by vonRoll-Habegger in 1985 for the Darling Harbour People Mover formal submission. The table is currently work-in-progress as there are gaps in the data for more recent (post 1985) systems and the status of some older systems is unknown. It should be noted it was very common for this monorail equipment to be relocated on closure, so the actual number of monorail systems and trains produced by vonRoll-Habegger is nowhere near as many as this table would initially suggest.)

No.

Put into operation

Name of the Installation

Length (m)

Type

Number of trains

Cars/train

Pers/car

Pers/h

Remarks

 

1

 

1964

 

EXPO Suisse 1965 Lausanne (Switzerland) (dismounted)

 

 

4200

 

1

 

24

 

16

 

4

 

2 x 3600

 

Closed after Expo - relocated to Blackpool and Expo 67.

2

1965

International Transport Exhibition in Munich 1965 (Germany) (dismounted)
VIDEO

 

3000

2

9

7

12

3300

Closed after exhibition. The first Mk2 system.

3

1966

Blackpool Pleasure Beach (England)

 

1600

1

4

16

4

1500

Closed 2012.

4

1967

Expo ’67 Montreal (Canada)

 

4300

1

24

16

4

2 x 3500

One loop operational on La Ronde.

5

1967

Expo ’67 Montreal (Canada)

 

6500

2

32

9

12

5500

Closed - operated during follow on Man and his World Exhibition until 1971.
 

6

1967

Fuji Highland (Japan)

 

500

1

1

11

4

700

No information.

7

1968

Korakuen (Japan)

 

510

1

1

11

4

700

No information.

8

1968

Scheibenbahn for EMO (Machine Tool World Exposition) (Germany)

 

300

Spec.

2

-

-

-

Assumed closed after exhibition.

9

1969

Sacramento (California, USA)

 

2000

2

6

8

12

3000

Operational (during State fairs).

10

1969

Hershey (Penns., USA)

 

1400

2

3

6

12

1800

Operational.

11

1969

Expo ’70 Osaka (Japan)

 

1400

1

2

16

4

800

Closed with whole Expoland in 2007.

12

1970

Scheibenbahn for EMO (Machine Tool World Exposition) (Germany)

 

300

Spec.

2

-

-

-

Assumed closed after exhibition.

13

1971

Magic Mountain (Newhall, Calif., USA)

 

1100

2

3

6

12

2000

Closed in 2001. The 3 trains, spare parts and other equipment were sold to Hershey Park in 2011 for possible expansion of their system.
 

14

1971

Kiryu – Sportland (Japan)

 

300

1

1

8

4

700

No information.

15

1973

Carowinds (North Carolina, USA)

 

3300

2

4

8

12

2000

Closed 1994 and was planned to be relocated to Mayan Palace (Acapulco, Mexico).
 

No.

Put into operation

Name of the Installation

Length (m)

Type

Number of trains

Cars/train

Pers/car

Pers/h

Remarks

 

16

 

1974

 

Lion Country Safari - Kings Island (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)

 

 

3100

 

2

 

7

 

9

 

12

 

3000

 

Closed 1993 and relocated to Jungle Jim’s International Market.

17

1974

Kings Dominion (Richmond Virg. USA)

 

3300

2

7

9

12

3000

Closed 1993.

18

1980

GRUN 80 Basel - 2nd Exhibition of Swiss Horticulture (Switzerland)

 

2700

1 s

7

16

6

3000

Assumed closed after exhibition.

19

1981

Sentosa Island (Singapore)

 

6400

1 s

9

16

6

1300

Closed 2005.

20

1986?

Expo ’86 in Vancouver (Canada)

 

5265

2

10

9

11.1

3100

Closed after Expo and relocated to Alton Towers.

 

1986

Seaworld (Queensland, Australia)

 

2000

2

3

9

12

1800

Operational. Third Mk2 train came from Brisbane Expo '88.

 

1987

Expo ’88 Brisbane (Australia)

2300

2

4

9

12

3667

Closed after Expo, with 1 train relocated to Seaworld and 3 trains to Europa Park.
 

 

1987

Alton Towers (Staffordshire, England)

 

3200

2

7

9

 11.1

4800

Operational - with refurbished trains from Vancouver Expo 86.

 

1988

Darling Harbour Monorail (Sydney, Australia)

 

3600

3

6

7

18.3 (inc. standees)

3675

Closed June 2013 - after being bought by NSW State government in March 2012.

 

1989

Oasis - Jupiter Casino (Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia)

 

1300

3

 

4/5

 

 

Operational again - services were suspended between October 2013 and 18th Devember 2014.

 

1990?

Dallas Zoo (Texas, USA)

 

 

3 Spec.

 

13

 

 

Operational.

 

1991

Jurong Bird Park (Singapore)

 

1700

2

4

4

12

 

Closed 2012.

 

1991

Merry Hill Shopping Centre (Brierley Hill, England)
VIDEO

 

3250

3

4

7

4 (end) or 8 seated with 15 standees

 

Closed 1996 and mostly demolished in 2001, with some equipment purchased for planned expansion of the Oasis Monorail.

 

1991

Expo ‘92 Seville (Spain)

 

3100

2

6

10

107 per train

3816

Closed after Expo & trains removed after fire in 2006. One shortened 4-car train is at Plaza Imperial shopping centre in Zaragoza.
 

 

1995

Europa Park - E. P. Express (Rust, Germany)

 

2500

2

3

9

99 per train

1200

Operational when park is open. Uses 3 of the Brisbane Expo '88 Mk2 trains.

 

1996/2000

Newark Liberty International Airport (Airtrain) (New York, USA)

 

3000/4800

3

12/18

6

 

 

Operational - fully automated with platform doors. The last system built by vonRoll-Habegger – currently due to be maintained until 2022.
 

 

2008

Plaza Imperial shopping centre (Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain)

 

600

2

1

4

7 (end) or 12 seated

430

Operational - fully automated with platform doors. Uses one shortened Seville Expo '92 Mk2 set. Built by Ingeniería y Servicios de Montaña S.A. and SENER Ingeniería y Sistemas S.A..
 

 

2010

Jungle Jim’s International Market (Fairfield, Ohio, USA)
VIDEO

 

600

2

1

7

 12

 

Operational about once per month for special events - powered via onboard diesel generator set.

The design successor to the vonRoll Mk2/3 light monorail is the Intamin P8 monorail. This is a similar scale, Swiss steel track system.

 

HL 2013