I am sorry to see that the Council continues to show interest in the proposal for a sea front monorail. It seems as if some people have got carried away with the idea. It needs a prompt thumbs-down.
Unlike a conventional railway or tramway, a monorail will have to be carried on overhead posts which will be visually obtrusive. In the end, that will probably rule out the scheme on planning grounds. In the meantime a substantial amount of time and money will have been wasted on design and consultation. And even if it came to pass, it could not be extended into the town or otherwise integrated into the existing public transport system. It would do nothing that a conventional tramway, using well-established technology, would not do more reliably and at a fraction of the cost. Conventional tramways can run at ground level or in tunnels or on viaducts and if desired, grass can be laid in the space between the tracks to further reduce the visual impact.
One option worth considering would be to build a tramway to the narrower metre gauge. These are popular in continental cities with narrow, winding streets, such as Helsinki, which has just added some stylish and comfortable vehicles to its fleet (photographs). If the Volks Railway were converted to this gauge, it may even be possible to adapt the existing original cars to run on it alongside the new vehicles. As an added attraction, there would also be the possibility of running historic vehicles on loan from continental tramway museums.
Please can we get this this proposal back down to earth?
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