Seattle Center Monorail

The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated monorail line in Seattle, Washington, that runs one mile along Fifth Avenue from Westlake Center in Downtown to Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne. It claims to be the "only fully self-sufficient public transit system" in the United States ,and with a top speed of 50 mph, to also be the fastest full-sized monorail in the country.

Creation and route

The monorail, which cost $3.5 million to build, opened on March 24, 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition, a World's Fair being held at the current site of Seattle Center. Eight million people rode the monorail during the half year the fair was open; today, annual ridership is around 2.5 million.

At the northern end of the line, the Experience Music Project building was designed so that the monorail could pass through it on its way to the terminal.

Originally, the south end of the line was a large station in Westlake Park that formed a lid over the park. In 1988, the station was moved north a block with the construction of the Westlake Mall shopping center. In order to fit the design of the mall the tracks were moved closer together, such that there is only room for one train to occupy the Westlake Center station at a time. This design decision introduced a collision risk at that station was eventually realized in 2005.

Operation

The Seattle Center Monorail operates daily. It departes every 10 minutes from the station at Seattle Center en route to Westlake Center Mall, at Fifth and Pine Street. Each trip takes two minutes to cover the approximately 1 mile route. Each train can carry up to 450 passengers per trip. The Monorail provides two-train service during special events and activities, with departures every five minutes or less.

Round-trip fares are $3.50 for adults, $1.50 for youth ages 5-12, $1.50 for senior 65+, disabled, and persons with Medicare cards. One-way fares are 1/2 of the round-trip price. Children 4 and under ride free.

Potential Demolition

In November 2002, Seattle voters approved the construction of a new 14-mile monorail line. The "Green Line," as it was known, was to be the first of five monorail lines running throughout the city. Partial service was scheduled to be available in 2007, and full service was scheduled for 2009. Due to the route chosen from Queen Anne to Downtown, the existing monorail line was to be demolished as part of that project. The Green Line project was terminated by a public vote in November 2005 after concerns were raised about its financing plan.

Accidents

The train on the right was approaching the station, and should have yielded.

In 1971, a brake failure on the red train resulted in it striking the girder at the end of the track in the Seattle Center station, resulting in injuries to 26 passengers. Passengers were evacuated by ladder after trains stalled on the track in 2002 and 2003

On May 31, 2004, a fire broke out on the monorail with 150 people aboard. No one was killed; five passengers were taken to the hospital, none of them burned. The line was closed until December 16, 2004, when service resumed with one of the two trains (the "red train," newly fireproofed) in operation.

This train is in the approximate location of the accident in November. Note how the space between the tracks narrows approaching the station.

On November 26, 2005, the two trains clipped one another on a curve, shearing the door off one train, smashing glass, and raining shards over passengers. Two people were hospitalized with minor injuries; no one else was seriously hurt.

External links

References

Template:News reference
Dougherty, Phil (2005-12-23). "Monorail crashes into steel girder at Seattle Center, injuring 26, on July 25, 1971". HistoryLink. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |publishdate= ignored (help)