China's first commercial suspended monorail line opened to the public on Tuesday in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, giving commuters a surreal experience like riding a futuristic vehicle in a sci-fi movie.
Li Zhengying, a local resident who took the train, said her journey was 'extremely cool' and said she would bring her family for a ride the next time. The operational first phase of the project covers a total distance of 10.5 kilometers and has six stations in the Optics Valley of China, a national innovation demonstration zone in Wuhan, according to Optics Valley Traffic Company, the operator of the line. The monorail train can travel 60 km per hour and the two cars have a combined passenger capacity of 220. The glass floor provides commuters with an aerial view of the city.
The route runs 12 hours per day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a train departing every 10 minutes. The entire process is automated and requires no human intervention, unless there is an emergency.
The first two days of the monorail, Wang Anjun, the head of the equipment system division of the monorail, said the number of passengers exceeded their expectations. The railway operator had to bring down the departure time to eight minutes to clear the rush. The interval will be shortened to cope with the sea of tourists during the National Day holiday, Wang said.
For a monthly ticket, commuters can buy an unlimited number of rides for 120 yuan. The one-time and one-day tickets cost 30 yuan each until Halloween, end of the National Day holiday period. The new one-day and one-time ticket prices are yet to be announced.
China Railway Fourth Survey and Design Institute Group chief designer Wang Honggang, one of the construction firms involved in the project, said the monorail route is very scenic as it links parks, lakes and hills in the Optics Valley.
Wang Kecheng, assistant designer at CRRC Qingdao Sifang, another company involved in the project, said the monorail uses multiple shock absorbers to enhance the stability of the railcars and offer passengers a smoother ride.
The railcars, which are made of light aluminum alloy to reduce weight, have a flywheel energy storage system that converts electrical energy into kinetic energy for use during braking, the senior designer said.
Her son, Huang Yingru, from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, was transferred to Wuhan for a monorail ride during the trial runs in summer.