Transit Papers

Welcome to The Monorail Society Transit Papers Page. We are inviting select individuals to write papers for this section, as well as issuing a blanket "Request for Papers" to those who might be interested in contributing. The Monorail Society Papers Committee (made up of transportation professionals and TMS officers) will not arbitrarily limit the discussion to "monorails," but will consist of a jury who will do the following:

1) Invite articles on topics;
2) Determine which articles are appropriate, and
3) Determine which papers will be published.

Possible topics that could be covered are: state-of-the-art in non-air transportation technologies, straddle monorails, suspended monorails, maglevs, linear motors, PRT, new construction materials/methods, the politics of transit, how to win a petition drive, case studies on attracting riders, or profitable transit systems and how they got there. We also invite those with opposing views. Anonymous papers will be published upon request and acceptance by the jury. Please submit candidate papers to Keith Walls, TMS Vice President/Technical Affairs (pdf format preferred).

There are no monetary rewards for having a paper published, other than the satisfaction of helping to set the transportation agenda for the 21st century. It's up to us to inform and educate the public. To the many of you who have taken the time to join The Monorail Society, we thank you. For the rest of you, please join us in expanding our role in the transportation discussion.

  • A Nationwide High-Speed Monorail Grid for the United States. Viable? Desirable? Achievable? by Thomas H. Hopkins.
    Technologies, economics, environmental impact, and politics of transit in the 21st Century and develops a vision for a new national transit grid, G4. (pdf)
  • CHSST: "Assessment of CHSST Maglev for U.S. Urban Transportation" FTA Report, July 2002 (FTA-MD-26-7029-2002.1) , June 2003 (FTA-MD-26-7029-2003). Japan's urban maglev technology assessment by FTA. (2.5MB)
  • CHSST: "Applicability of CHSST Maglev Technology for U.S. Urban Transportation", June 2003 (FTA-MD-26-7029-2003). Japan's urban maglev technology is described and assessed for the USA in this FTA report. (1.5MB)
  • Considering Monorail Rapid Transit for North American Cities. by Ryan R. Kennedy. (1.9MB)
    A good overview of current monorail technology and applications throughout the world. (pdf)
  • Economic Analysis of Monorail Link Between the Stratosphere Tower and Downtown Las Vegas. by Andrew Jakes.
    Informative study results for City of Las Vegas of what may become the next extension of the Las Vegas Monorail. (pdf)
  • Franchise Agreement with the City of Indianapolis: a New Approach to People Mover Implementation in American Cities. by Andrew Jakes.
    A unique franchise agreement is resulting in a people mover system at no cost to taxpayers. (pdf)
  • Hitachi Small Monorail (New Solution for Urban Traffic: Small-type Monorail System). by Takeo Kuwabara, Motomi Hiraishi, Kenjiro Goda, Seiichi Okamoto, Akira Ito and Yoichi Sugita. The study results of a new Alweg-based Hitachi monorail for smaller cities. (pdf)
  • The Las Vegas Monorail: A Unique Rapid Transit Project for a Unique City. by Thomas J. Stone, Ph.D., P.E., Carlos A. Banchik, P.E., and Jeffery B. Kimmel, Esq.
    This system broke ground in a number of ways. Read the details behind the deal and the technology. Graphics included.
  • Maglev 2000. MAGLEV 2000 of Florida Corporation has designed magnetic levitation and propulsion technology for high-speed intercity transportation systems capable of operating at speeds in excess of 300 mph, or that can also be adapted for slower speed urban transit operations where operating speeds of 30 to 120 mph will be used. (pdf)
  • Maglift Monorail: A High-Performance, Low-Cost, and Low-Risk Solution for High-Speed Ground Transportation. by Thomas H. Hopkins, Julio Pinto Silva, Barry Marder, Bob Turman, and Bruce Kelley.
    Comparing conventional rail, maglev, and a proposed high-speed monorail. (pdf)
  • Magnemotion Maglev M3. The MagneMotion Urban Maglev System, a proposed $20 million per mile maglev system. (pdf)
  • Riding High in Las Vegas. by Carlos A Banchik, P.E., and Harry Jasper, P.E. Courtesy of Carlos A. Banchik and Civil Engineering Magazine. Technical details of Las Vegas Monorail construction. (4.2 MB pdf)
  • Technology Development for U.S. Urban Maglev. by In-Kun Kim, Robert Kratz , David Doll, General Atomics. On key technical aspects of US Maglev Project.
  • The Physics of SERAPHIM. by Barry Marder, Sandia National Laboratories. The Segmented Rail Phased Induction Motor (SERAPHIM) has been proposed as the propulsion for the High-Speed Monorail, as well as other forms of ground transportation. This report describes the technology, different designs and examines weaknesses and strengths.

    • Our sincere thanks to the authors. As the website continues to grow in popularity, the thirst for more information continues to grow as well. These authors are doing us all a great service. Continued success to you!

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