A case study into the former Sydney Monorail system, including a history of the system, and an analysis into why it closed down, touching upon local industry and politics. Last Episode: • Abandoned - Sega World...
Ok, to be fair, this was an early video where I had no regard for basic video quality at all. I plan on remaking this particular video one day as it is embarrassingly badly made when compared to some of the stuff coming out recently. - SL
When I lived in Sydney I loved the Monorail. I would tell visitors to ride the loop at night for some great views of darling Harbour. I guess nothing lasts for ever...
@@martinmayhew145 but... thats what the light rail does now, and it has more patronage from just the few years its been open than the monorail did throughout its entire lifetime... its just not a very good transport solution
@@BluePieNinjaTV i would agree that it can be done well, but monorail just isnt that good of a technology compared to the ones we already have. it cant use existing infrastructure like roads and rail, and the track that it needs is incredibly complicated and expensive owing to the fact that it has to be elevated. it probably can be done well but you could do a lot better and a lot cheaper with another solution
I actually don't care that your videos have dodgy sound and crude editing, because they're so in-depth and informative. I've lived in Sydney all my life, and I think rode on the monorail once as a kid. The insights here are fascinating.
zoltan902 I completely agree, although I am only 16, I find a lot of enjoyment in learning about my young childhood memories. Things are so different now because of our government.
All the good stuff in Sydney is gone: pubs, late night music venues, monorail, segaworld, fair real estate prices. Glad i lived there in the early 2000s those were great times for Sydney.
Rode it a few times obviously being up high its the perfect tour of Sydney from a tourist perspective, you got to ride past much of city and darling harbour for about $7. It was smooth, quiet and felt sophisticated. Obviously with the Simpsons and others mocking them they became uncool or cheesy but since the city already owned it they should have just kept it running. Except we live in a society now where the minute something goes out of fashion it’s abandoned which is why culture today is about as bland as a cheescake made with vegan cheese, stevia and almond milk.
Lol I remember visiting Sydney as a kid in the late 90's and thinking how it was so much cooler than Melbourne because it had a monorail and segaworld, all we had was trams. At least you still have the double decker trains I suppose.
When I did a 1 month IT contract in Sydney a few years ago, was using the monorail nearly everyday & it saved me from getting a rent-a-car as I was based in the city & work was a few stops away on the monorail in Darling Harbour around Pyrmont. Super easy way to get around & the views were definitely awesome. Silly to get rid of it!
I loved it as a tourist - in 2010 it took you around the cbd and was great. In contrast the one time I took a bus down Georges street we were stuck in a traffic jam for an hour.
Better video than the previous one. Genuinely interesting subject matter. Great use of footage from back in the day. Biggest gripe is the audio which runs from clear as a bell to muddy as hell.
This is a brilliant video of the old beast. I used to be a driver/ kiosk supervisor for a few years before it closed down. Really is a shame it had to come down. It was always more of an attraction than anything.
@@amuxpatch2798 And therein lies the issue! It's not the station sites, but rather the state and local governments which are stopping them from being reused for something actually useful.
As an ex-Sydneysider I can say, it saddens me not to be able to ride the Monorail. My visits to Sydney will never be quite the same again.... I have not watched the video fully, but my guess is, some bloody politician had their hands in this.... They just do not seem to see things the same way as us poor mortals do.
Well the local council wanted a light rail line originally, but the state government, in their infinite "wisdom" decided to build the monorail instead. In hindsight, if we had gotten light rail, it would still be around in 2021 and probably integrated into the disaster that is the Sydney Light Rail. The best outcome from two questionable options, in my opinion.
yeah, the monorail always felt like a ride to see the city and a novelty rather than a transit system. its still a shame its gone though. Like the theme parks, it belonged to Sydney's soul. it made everything a bit more fun
Great, informative video! So glad I got to ride the system a few times during my visits. Maybe the sound wasn’t the greatest, but the detailed information about the system kept me focused and interested in this video till the end. Thank you for making this!
I always loved the monorail, I’ve only got vague memories of it now but still loved riding it. I remember I stayed in the world square during the renovations the the building and station construction in 2004. (I was 2) watching the building work and the monorail at the same time was a two year old’s dream!
I came across this by accident but I really enjoyed it as I had visited Sydney in the mid 90s and early 2000s and saw this Monorail in service. I'm going back to Sydney next year and would have wondered where it had gone. I live in the UK.
We had the same Monorail system in the West Midlands of England. It was built at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the early 90’s. One difference however, was it was a bi-directional, two rail system. The Merry Hill story, though, is near identical to the Sydney one. Plagued with the exact same problems-, low patronage, dead end route and political opposition to expansion. Along with persistent breakdowns, it was eventually closed in 1996 and dismantled. Quite ironically, the track and trains from Merry Hill were actually purchased and placed into service by a Queensland shopping centre. Several of the long forgotten stations also still exist. They are closed off to the public, but can be seen from outside. On the inside, they still have their turnstiles and ticket machines, adverts and route guides remaining in situ from the day of closure. It’s like an eerie time capsule of the 90’s. A video of the abandoned stations can be seen here, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d_TWrz2ieuQ.html. Again, just like in Sydney, light rail is now the favoured system and a long delayed line is due to start construction to Merry Hill later this year. The parallels of the two countries Monorail systems are incredible. Footage of the Merry Hill system can be seen here... Part 1. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rbu74UEKd28.html Part 2. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lLBp6a4zUgc.html
WIth the dress code it was clearly built for rich snobs back then. $5 back then was $20+ now for a short ride only 8 stations lol. It was built with taxpayer money as well.
I'm usually frugal with my costs but for some reason it seemed OK for the cost when I worked in Sydney CBD at a pub and living in Harris Street Darling Harbour. Being reminded of the price now, I laughed at myself for thinking the price was reasonable for the early 90s when I was there, ha ha
I rode on that monorail during two holidays in Sydney around 2010. There were plenty of passengers but it wasn't overcrowded and it saved me walking out to Darling Harbor which is a decent tourist hangout with all the restaurants and things to see. The elevated location of the monorail allowed a eagles view of the city for tourist orientation, another feature I appreciated. Personally I'm sorry the monorail is gone. Thanks for the video :)
I never understood why there’s such resistance to monorail systems. They are a excellent, cost effective and less-disruptive form of transport. It seems the powers of road and even light rail builders / operators have all the power. At least you have some sort of rail there. Here in Tampa, Florida, USA have been fighting for all types of rail for 30 yrs with almost no success.
I live in the Tampa area also. There once was a monorail from the convention center to Harbor Island. Maybe a half mile. Sad to see it come down. I have been in trains all over Europe. Fast, clean, on time. Such a pleasure to use. Relaxing without stress of driving. But here, it's just add more roads which just makes the congestion worse.
@@marcosdetampa6796 I remember it too. The people mover. It wasn't technically a monorail. It was like the people movers at Tampa International. It was supposed be expanded to cover most of downtown. Very similar to the free people mover system in downtown Miami. Too bad it was scrapped
I'm glad I got to ride it when I visited Sydney in 1999. Had they extended it to Circular Quay and connected a couple stations to the subway they might have had something but as built it was not very useful. I've never figured out why urban transportation planners like light rail but hate monorails so much. Putting trains and cars at different levels should be a no-brainer. Crashes between the two seem a constant in Los Angeles. Monorail tracks are also cheaper and faster to install than light rails. After talking about extending the Seattle Monorail for decades they built a light rail to the airport. As most of it is elevated it is practically a monorail. The end of the system downtown is only a block from the original monorail station but buried in a very expensive underground complex.
" I've never figured out why urban transportation planners like light rail but hate monorails so much. " A couple of reasons really. 1. Vendor lock in Once you choose a system, you're bound to the manufacturer. Trains of manufacturer A will not fit on tracks (beams) of manufacturer B and v.v. as the designs are proprietary and heavily patented. So, you can't just put a different make of monorail trains on your existing track when you need extra trains or choose a different manufacturer when you need to replace older stock. Those manufacturers know this, and abuse that power to ask anything they want really. While this is fine for the likes of Disneyworld, it's not for a community owned public transport authority. Oh, and if your manufacturer goes out of business, you're out of luck. Lightrail doesn't have this problem: multiple manufacturers can provide you with trams, metro- or light rail trains that are perfectly compatible with your existing infrastructure. 2. Incompatible with other modes of transportation Take a look at Karslruhe, Germany. There, you can hop on a tram in the city center only to have it merge onto the national rail system outside of the city and whoosh you to nearby towns and cities at 140 km/h. Once there, they convert back to tram mode and continue street running to the city or town center with a lot of stops. Same thing in London: the Metropolitan Line merges onto national rail infrastructure outside of the city center and reaches as far as Amersham (30 miles from Baker Street tube station). Now try to do that same thing with a monorail. 3. Safety Trams and trains can be evacuated much easier than a monorail that's up 8 meters in the air. Sure, you can have guide ways and footpaths along the beam, but that sort of defeats the purpose. 4. Cost Trams and lightrail can run on conventional track that's already there, saving you some money. Either on tracks left behind by disused railways (if they haven't been in disuse for too long) or having it merge into railways that are in operation (see #2). London did this with the trams in the south (Croydon) and some tube trains share tracks with national rail services too. some tube lines are converted former main lines. Rotterdam (Netherlands) did it twice, and expanded its metro network "on the cheap" this way. 5. Public acceptance factor (PAF) Monorails are visible and put a mark on their surroundings. The pillars, the beams and the stations are very visible and can get in the way. Like in Sydney and that Simpsons episode, this can easily spark protests with "NIMBYs" and people who want the city's look and feel untouched. Trams on the other hand are much more accepted as a mode of transportation. Using third rail, like in Sydney's CBD, or battery power for journeys through historical city centers takes care of the ugly overhead wires and the posts needed for it, leaving you only with a few tracks in the street.
I really love videos like this, it shows the compassion you have as a small RU-vidr, i hope your channel grows well, we need a lot more videos like this.
There are two sides to this story. Commercial shipping was moved out of Sydney Harbour into Botany Bay. Beautiful beaches on Eastern Botany Bay were replaced by dirty, noisy, polluting container terminals. Forshore Drive isolated residents of Botany, Banksmeadow, Pagewood and Hillsdale from what could have been public access swimming beaches. To add more misery, they built a third runway into Botany Bay, removing potential recreation waterways. Currently, the cruise industry is pushing to build a terminal in the only small area of beach available to locals, Yarra Bay. This is an example of the wealthy class (Neville Wran, NSW Labor) serving the needs of business to the cost of less wealthy workers in Botany and surrounding suburbs. A good reason to vote for Community Independent candidates in the March NSW State election, 2023. Labor has sold out to their donors.
The main problem with it's "replacement" ie Sydney Trams is that many other Australian cities especially Melbourne & Adelaide have them & trams are a royal PITA to drive around when you're stuck behind them driving a car as they can't move over like buses can. The beauty of a monorail is that you can have complete chaos below & sail past from above & really enjoy what's best about Sydney ie its truly stunning views especially at night & especially around Darling Harbour. When I was in Sydney on a work contract I wished I had a dollar for each time I had caught the monorail at 0830a & got to work in under 15mins from the hotel located past Chinatown to Pyrmont whilst my colleagues (who also came up from Victoria & had stayed in the same hotel) who drove rent-a-cars all came super late to work like nearly 0920a & much later as they got stuck constantly in Sydney city traffic. If Sydney really wants to attract more tourists, it needs far more quicker, safer & more visibly pleasing transport options to really showcase the best of the city
Putting a theme park monorail system into a city instead of a mass transit one, that decision pretty much secured its fate. Great idea just poorly executed.
No real destination, and no way of getting back without going the wrong way around. They really needed to have it go all the way to Circular Quay for it to be worthwhile for tourists, and it would have had to go both ways for it to be worthwhile for commuters. Shuttling between shopping centres just doesn't cut it.
It cost as much for one short ride on the monorail as it did for an all day ticket on Melbourne public transport with many hundreds of km of route availability. This would certainly have lessened its appeal to anyone other than curiosity seekers.
Don't really know why you'd want to. The city council wouldn't be impressed, and you would never get back the tens of millions of dollars investment on such a thing. That being said I liked the monorail a lot as a little kid and if it was still standing today I would be using it to get to my job in Darling Harbour, every time I was out in town. - SL
Again, I love the idea of monorail, but the city council would never allow it. Considering their mayor was the leading opponent of the monorail in 1988, I have serious doubts they will let that happen again. Monorail has applications in Sydney, but it no longer serves a purpose in the CBD. Light rail fills that purpose now. That being said a monorail link from Wynyard to Newport would be a fantastic idea, replacing a heap of bus services that form the backbone of transport up on the northern beaches, getting vehicles off the road. I travel into town on this transport corridor all the time. 15-20 years down the track, the B-Line should be replaced with the monorail transport link. Light rail and trains will never get built down here because we lack the spare land to do so, but an elevated two-way monorail does not require too much land and can easily be built down Pittwater Road. - SL
I remember riding the monorail on my trip to NSW and enjoyed the Darling Harbor area. I did see the monorail as underutilized and felt it was for tourist. After viewing your video I feel that the monorail was poorly planned and expansion to another area might have been beneficial but too late it's gone. Thanks, good show.
Whenever we made the trip to Sydney it was a big deal as kids. We always went to Wonderland, Taronga Zoo (when they had so many seals), Darling Harbour for the Aquarium and we would ride the monorail. Also went to Old Sydney Town when I was 6. The only memory I have with my father. Was so sad to hear that everything responsible for the happiest time in my life is all gone... even the miniature world in Port Macquarie is gone
It just went in a loop around the city centre, serving mostly tourist spots. Commuters who actually live & work in Sydney & the surrounding suburbs couldn't use it.
I visited Sydney in April 2013, just before the monorail closed, and rode the loop. It was a sad shadow of a transport system. I'm glad I got there before it ended, tho. Nice video--thanks.
I was actually part of the celebrations for the closing ceremony, I was the white power ranger, as they had used the monorail in the original power rangers movie
Sydney looked into light rail but opted for the monorail... quarter of a century later the monorail is gone and light rail has been introduced and expanding in Sydney.
Very interesting video and well researched, but it sounds like you were changing microphones every 2 minutes with the quality of the voice-over wildly fluctuating from clear to terrible.
I only used the Monorail once and the cartage I was in was over crowed and someone pick pocket my wallet. back in 1988 $5 was too much to pay when you could just do a 15 min walk and use that $ 5 to buy lunch
I enjoyed regular use of the monorail on Fridays when I drove to work, parking at Harbourside. It was relaxing and transported me within a block of my building. Sadly, my $10 a week couldn't keep it afloat.
I remember visiting Sydney as a little kid from NZ and riding the monorail. At the time I thought it was the coolest shit in the world and that Sydney was the coolest place in the world. Looking back on it, it just gives off massive 90's retro liminal space vaporwave vibes. Darling Harbour as a whole is like if vaporwave was a place. Throw in some Spice Girls as background music over the image at 12:10 and you will be staring 1997 right in the eye.
I rode the hydrafoil in 1989 just before they were discontinued. Glad I rode the monorail only a few months before closure. I had only ridden it twice since its opening in 1988 and the first time was 88!
I actually used the monorail to get to/from work on occasion. If you pre-purchased tickets it was about $3/trip, and was useful for getting from Pyrmont to the eastern part of the CBD. (i lived near the start of Oxford St). It ran more frequently than the light rail, and prior to the light rail joining the rest of the Sydney ticketing system, was cheaper for that trip. I was definitely an edge case though, and mostly used it when it was raining or I was really tired.
Sir Laptop I'm surprised you didn't reference this Monorail appearing in the Power Rangers movie (1995). It wasn't just a background thing either. For what it's worth, I, like you, are a Sydney Sider. I love the way my city was when the Monorail was operation including Sega World, and am not a fan how much Darling Harbour has gone from being a hidden gem to a business park.
I used to take the monorail sometimes when I worked out of the Entertainment Center, and the Convention Center @ Darling Harbour, after catching a bus from Bondi Junction, in the early 'nineties. Could you consider doing a follow-up to this video; outlining the redevelopment of Darling Harbour, and the reasons for the demolition of the Ent Cent, thanks.
I was really disappointed returning to Sydney, after a decade away, and finding it gone. I used to think it gave a great and interesting atmosphere to the CBD. What a shame.
It is a shame it is gone.. such fun going around on it.. it was good when ur down in darling harbour and hope on the mono rail and head into the cbd area
I LOVE your videos stumbled upon it just recently and I've always thought that mainly the darling park station stop or the Harbourside station could've always been/wish that it was turned into a cool bar or retro style dinner or something like that anyway please keep up the great work
Thanks for the video. I just stayed near the Chinatown stop and could see the station from the breakfast room which made me wonder what happened to the monorail, hence leading me here.
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment?"
2 года назад
Starwing music in the background. Awesome!! Edit : Super Mario Kart too!!
The Vegas monorail works because a lot of people need to get from the airport to the strip and back again. The Sydney monorail had no major destination to feed into. Darling Harbor is a substandard shopping centre, so is World Square, so was Paddy's market (with the actual market beneath) and so were the other stations, with the best of the shopping centres being Centrepoint. "Take me from this shopping centre to the nearest other shopping centre". Not gonna work. If it fed to Circular Quay it would have worked and worked brilliantly, you would have been able to get straight from the ferries, trains, Harbor Bridge and Opera House to Sydney Tower and all those shopping centres without getting your feet wet, but without it, you had a monorail to rival Rockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook.
Sydney lost a part of its soul when the monorail was removed 😓 the city just doesn’t feel the same without the over head humming and clicking of a monorail carriage passing you by…
I hated the monorail . The worst thing in Sidney ever. Slow , hot in Summer, expensive, noisy and at times dirty. The steps up and down were a nightmare on a rainy day . I’m so glad it’s gone. Now don’t tell I don’t know. I worked in the city in the block bounded by Park,York,King and Elizabeth street’s for 28 years.
I went for a spin on the monorail once, not long before they closed it down. I was the only person in the carriage😕 Edit: Clover Moore is a dingbat. She hated monorail and the Cahill expressway, but, as mayor, shut down half the CBD for years to build a light rail system that had previously been ripped up due to the impracticality of trams in the tight topographical environment of Sydney. That light rail still isn't finished.
You all need something like Skytrain. Skytrain works well, Is two way system, and features the worls longest Transit only Bridge int he Sky Bridge. Sure the track is bigger than Monorail track but its 2 way and it runs automatically with no drivers.
Monorail 4 was saved as a fully operational set bet Sydney Electric Train Society. They also saved almost every removable piece from convention center. Including all turnstiles, ticket machines, tiles, seats etc.
The voiceover made this video practically unwatchable. Part of sounds like the narrator is pounding on the microphone, and the volume is all over the place. This could have been a great video if a little effort was put into the editing and recording of the audio.
A pity it's gone! I visited Sydney a few years ago and had a few rides on it - it was great! Sydney seems to have excellent public transport with the trains and light rail.
