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Originally Posted by Beta_Magellan
Monorails (as practiced in East Asia) do have a niche—it’s an intermediate-capacity completely grade-separated transport system, so it’s somewhere between heavy rail and North American light rail. In other words, it operates in the same general space as Vancouver’s SkyTrain, Docklands Light Rail (probably the closest analogue to a lot of the Asian systems, since they often work in concert with conventional rail infrastructure), or Honolulu’s planned system. Monorails have the the grade-climbing advantage from rubber tires, though a number of other intermediate-capacity systems use linear induction motors which combine good grade climbing ability while keeping the advantages of conventional rail: low rolling resistance, lower operating costs (due to lower resistance as well as having to worry about fewer running surfaces and less complex rolling stock), almost-as-narrow guideways, and probably tighter turning radii as well.
I’m was going to say that the only reason the Alweg monorail took off in Japan (and by “took off” I mean a handful of lines were built—not that impressive when compared to Japanese urban rail’s growth from the 1960s on in general) was because the Tokyo-Haneda Airport monorail (connecting the airport to the Yamanote Line, not a people mover) established local expertise in monorail construction and operation, making it a proven mode choice for intermediate-capacity lines and allowing it to carve out a niche. That’s just my hypothesis, though.
I was surprised to find out that the Chongqing Metro was a monorail, though—I’d think the city would need the capacity of a full metro and that any grade-climbing issues could be brute-forced through.
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Line 2 (current ops since 2005) is a monorail, with subway sections in the very dense jeifangbei downtown. As was mentioned, monorail works best due to the elevation changes.
Line 1, which is in testing and scheduled to open in a few weeks, is all heavy rail subway in a very deep tunnel. It runs from Chaotianmen to Jeifangbei downtown, then through the rest of the dense part of Chongqing, eventually to Shapingba. This line will be heavily used and therefore was necessary to use heavy rail.
Line 3, which is also in testing and also scheduled to open in a few weeks, is another Line 2 type system, connecting the North with the Central and the South districts. Again, climbing necessities.
Line 6, under construction with a scheduled open of 2012, will be another heavy rail subway, going north to south (via Jeifangbei downtown) in a deep tunnel under neath not only CQ land/mountains but also the Yangtze River.
If I recall correct, these are the only lines operating/testing or under construction for CQ Metro at this time. All other planned lines are likely to be monorail due to the geography and suburban/remotness since they are further out.
I've ridden the CQ Metro Line 2/monorail many many times, and you can't tell the difference between it and a heavy rail subway in all honesty, particularly in the subway sections in Jeifangbei and Daping CBDs. You only realize it is a monorail once it elevates and you wait at a station. Inside, it is not too much different than Heavy Rail, using Hitachi Large Capacity vehicles. ... It handles crush loads quite well (I believe 36,000 ppdph) - much bigger than the 'monorail' that most North Americans think of (ie, Seattle Monorail). Of course Line 1 and 6 will handle even greater loads, but I think Monorail for the other lines probably is sufficient since there will not be as much commuting into Jeifangbei from so far out.
I hope that helps.