Vonholl Monorail
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N T HARBOUR-LINK N vonHoll Monorail DARLING HARBOUR - AN INNER CITY TRANSFORMATION Darling Harbour is the greatest urban re-development ever undertaken in Australia and one of the most ambitious in the world today - 50 hectares of derelict industrial land transformed into a vital new entertainment, cultural and activity centre. Over $1.5 Billion worth of projects are destined for the site - $2 of private development for every $1 of public money invested. Sydney is already served by an excellent metropolitan transport system which includes an underground train loop, the 'city circle', around which the central business district has been built. Darling Harbour will greatly expand this central business district while creating a magnificent array of new facilities. THE NEED FOR TRANSPORT INTEGRATION To achieve its full potential, Darling Harbour must be integrated into the existing fabric and functions of the city. One of the most important means of achieving that integration is the TNT Harbour-Link Monorail system. It is the key to the Darling Harbour transport strategy and Darling Harbour's on-going success! EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST In early 1985, the Darling Harbour Authority received more than 20 Expressions of Interest from private enterprise for the development and operation of a 'People Mover' to link Darling Harbour and the city. Formal submissions from a selected shortlist were then invited. After more than 6 months of detailed consideration by a State Government sub-committee the TNT Proposal, using the proven light monorail technology of Von Roll of Switzerland, was chosen. The contract was awarded to TNT in October 1985. The formal contract, covering construction, operating and financial arrange• ments, was made public in March 1986. TNT HARBOUR-LINK MOVING WITH SYDNEY INTO THE Z1ST CENTURY There is no doubt that the TNT Harbour-Link monorail system is the answer to Sydney's problem of inner city transport, both now and well into the 21 st century. Because of its ultra slim design, TNT Harbour-Link can boldly travel through the very heart of the city - where the people are - moving them quickly and quietly above our congested streets, to the magnificent Darling Harbour complex. No other transit system arouses as much excitement as does the monorail. Custom-designed by Von Roll for urban areas where space is at a premium, TNT Harbour-Link is the most effective and efficient solution to moving people, and what's more, it is absolutely pollution free. Rubber tyres and electric motors mean whisper quiet travel and no exhaust fumes! Visionary in concept, TNT Harbour-Link is an innovation of which all Sydney can be justifiably proud. It enhances and contributes significantly to the delightful experience that is our modern city, and will do so for generations to come. The monorail moves quickly and quietly, above the traffic - a viewif up Market Street. lm TINT HARBOUR-LINK THE FACT5 THE OPERATOR THE EMPLOYMENT The TNT Group - Australia's most By providing a quick, efficient and dynamic transport organization - scenic link from the city centre, is the developer/owner/operator of TNT Harbour-Link ensures the TNT Harbour-Link. As joint owner on-going success of the of Australia's leading domestic magnificent Darling Harbour carrier, Ansett Airlines, TNT can project, on a 365 day-a-year basis. claim with complete justification, The mammoth investment in that no other private enterprise Darling Harbour and the group in Australia knows more thousands of jobs which are about moving people - quickly generated by that investment, are and safely. therefore secure - thanks to TNT Harbour-Link. THE TECHNOLOGY During the construction of TNT Von Roll - Universally Harbour-Link some 500 jobs have acknowledged as leaders in been generated, while some 30 people mover construction, Von to 40 permanent employees are Roll has custom-designed and needed to take care of operations, installed some nineteen monorail maintenance and security. systems - the latest being at Seaworld, on Queensland's Gold THE EFFECT ON TRAFFIC Coast. Von Roll represents Swiss One particular advantage of TNT technology at its very best! Harbour-Link is that it does not compete for space with cars, THE FUNDING buses, or pedestrians, in Sydney's TNT has funded the monorail in already congested streets its entirety. This means that all Support columns are located in construction and operating costs parking lanes or on extended are being met by private enter• footpath areas. This means prise. TNT Harbour-Link doesn't pedestrians continue to enjoy full cost the taxpayer a cent! What's use of existing footpaths, while more, the State Government cars and buses will continue to participates in a profit sharing utilize existing roads for through arrangement, based on ridership traffic. Parking or set-down areas, revenues. for both public and private THE LOCAL INDUSTRY transport, are still available INVOLVEMENT between those columns which are TNT Harbour-Link monorail cars located in the parking lane. are manufactured by Von Roll in The overall impact on street-level Switzerland. However, everything vehicular and pedestrian traffic else - including the monorail flow within the city is minor. assembly and fit-out of cars, control system, support columns, Meanwhile, TNT Harbour-Link, track, stations, and other with its elevated corridor, increases infrastructure - proudly wears the the overall capacity of the streets 'Made in Australia' tag. Indeed, to move people. Passengers Local Industry accounts for more glide overhead - completely than 70% of the total project. independent of, and totally unobstructed by the traffic below. Another important by-product of With the ability to move in excess TNT Harbour-Link, is the transfer of 5,000 people an hour above our of monorail technology. city streets, TNT Harbour-Link is a In essence, this means that transport planner's dream, and a future monorail projects can be passenger's delight. developed using a talent pool of experienced Australians. It has also provided a source of skilled, local operating and maintenance personnel. 4 TNT HARBDUR-LINK THE ENVIRONMENT The route, a loop configuration, The combination of rubber tyres, is 3.6 kilometres (2.25 miles) in electric drives and a continuously length. welded, steel running beam, means TNT Harbour-Link is THE STATIONS incredibly quiet. There will eventually be a total of eight stations around the loop, Meanwhile, the only visible sign of each one some 27 metres (88 the TNT Harbour-Link system, feet) long. Access to each station apart from the monorails them• includes ramps or elevators, (in selves, is the single running beam addition to stairs or escalators) and the slender but incredibly and the platform is level with the strong "I" beam support columns, floor of the monorail. This means strategically situated, some 30 access for the disabled in wheel• metres apart, along the route. chairs or people with strollers is Additionally, selected 'inner city' unhindered - a first for Sydney support columns are suitably transit systems! treated to further soften the shape. The city stations are This unobtrusive support system integrated into host buildings so ensures visual pollution is kept to that stairs and escalators do not a minimum. intrude onto the footpaths. Even more impressive is the fact that TNT Harbour-Link does not cause any air pollution at all! Its quiet, electric drives simply do not ... access for the disabled give off any emissions whatsoever, in wheelchairs is while all bearings and lubricated parts are fully sealed! unhindered - a first for Sydney transit systems! THE TRACK Von Roll have designed TNT Harbour-Link to run overhead, some 5.5 metres (18 feet) above THE MONORAILS the ground, just above awning Each monorail (consisting of seven level, on a 70cm (28 inches) wide individual cars) is approximately by 80cm (31 inches) deep, single 32 metres long and there are six beam, which in turn, is supported monorails in total. on slender but incredibly strong, 25cm by 69cm (10 inches by 27 The TNT Harbour-Link system is inches) "I" beam columns, spaced designed to move some 5,000 approximately every 30 metres passengers per hour on the (100 feet). complete circuit at rush hour. If required, additional monorails can be added to the system, so as to increase capacity even further! When we say THE TIMETABLE "whisper-quiet", Operating hours are currently 6.00am to midnight - 7 days a we mean it! week. Now that's service for you! Depending on flow conditions, the The running beam is field-welded round trip takes approximately 12 together, to provide a continuous minutes. Cruising speed is33km/h. track which, along with rubber With all six monorails operating, tyres, ensures minimal vibration the longest you'll have to wait is and noise. When we say "whisper- just 2 minutes. Now, that's service quiet," we mean it! for you! 6 TNT HARBOUR-LINK T THE SAFETY ASPECTS THE TRACK Equipment is, of course, provided The track - or running beam - to cope with the unlikely event of is a light, torsionally stiff steel an emergency. But, how safe is structure. The track is borne by TNT Harbour-Link?... in a word, steel support columns, spaced very! approximately every 30 metres. The Swiss-designed TNT The elements of the steel structure Harbour-Link monorail employs are factory pre-fabricated. Field sound, well-proven engineering assembly is therefore simplified. The Sydney Monorail is a 'light' transportation The resultant time savings mean system-the monorails are smaller than a commuter technology, which, in turn, ensures train, for example. Capacity is generated by the reliability that is second-to-none. minimal disruption to traffic and frequency of service - a monorail every two minutes. pedestrians during the With some nineteen monorail construction phase. systems to their credit, Von Roll really know how to build in safety! THE STATIONS The all-metal car bodies are The station platform is at the same of a non-flammable, lightweight level as the floor of the monorail, construction and are, at the same thereby permitting unobstructed time, extremely strong.