Goodbye, monorail drivers.......? Sorry if already posted.

Z

zulemara

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
s8film40 said:
Yeah this is the problem with how monorails are operated today. The key to making it a fast and convenient service is to keep the station times as short as possible. Any experienced pilot will tell you faster cycle times don't come from driving fast but getting in and out of stations quickly and having all the other drivers on the beam doing the same thing. When trains wait in stations to get that last guest other trains then have to hold for clearance. At peak performance the resort line can easily run with less than 15 minute cycles. While guests might get cut off and told to wait for the next train they also have the benefit of being able to get to their destination in around 10 minutes or less.
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yeah but the problem is guests don't understand that concept. You could point to the monorail waiting to come in and they'd still wanna get on the one that's in the station, even though it'll be to their benefit to get on the next one for the reasons you mentioned. It's the same way in watercraft.
 
s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
zulemara said:
yeah but the problem is guests don't understand that concept. You could point to the monorail waiting to come in and they'd still wanna get on the one that's in the station, even though it'll be to their benefit to get on the next one for the reasons you mentioned. It's the same way in watercraft.
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It can be done though. I have seen it done. It's a matter of communicating to the guests and cutting lines closing gates etc.
 
articos

articos

Well-Known Member
Genie of the Lamp said:
Minor bump but it's important newer news. Saw this posted on Screamscape today:
Monorail System News - (3/7/13) A very interesting report on the possible future of the WDW Monorail system was posted over at Monorails.org a few weeks back. Their sources claim that a group named Thales Transportation has been hired to design and update the entire WDW Monorail system over the next two years to become a fully automated system, while still using the existing Mark VI fleet.
The monorail Pilots will remain onboard, but only to serve as a babysitter to monitor the train systems. The trains themselves will simply be dispatched, much like any other Disney ride, by an operator at the station. The rumored budget for the project is said to be around $75 million. The article also claims that they may look into reversing the path the monorails take around the beams in order to prevent driving backwards through a beam-switch, but that doesn’t quite make sense to me, as they will still have to drive backwards through the switch, just on the way out to the beam instead of going off the beam.

Edit: There's a similar story on this on another website that coincides with this statement. Thanks for notifying me to this thread @wdwmagic.:) I wasn't sure whether to post it here or make my own new one so I decided make a new one. Also forgot about this thread too.
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Think we were talking about this all back in this thread: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/automated-monorails.859950/
 
Timon

Timon

Well-Known Member
Seems odd they are going with a Thales automation vs Bombardier CityFLO 650. Since the Mark VI trains were made by Bombardier and their automation for the MVI has been perfected on the Las Vegas Monorail it would seem wiser to go that way and avoid potential problems + $$$.
 
n2hifi

n2hifi

Active Member
From looking at their website, it looks like Thales is pushing urban transportation integration. Maybe they are looking at a bigger transportation management solution than just monorails.
 
Magikal

Magikal

Member
I still have our monorail co-pilot licenses. We used to ride up front with the kids every year. I'm glad they got the opportunity. It was something they'll never forget.
 
flavious27

flavious27

Well-Known Member
I don't doubt that tdo and disney co is looking at making the monorails being more automated. The line at tdl is automated and has not had any major issues. I also see the money that they will spend as a down payment on the next generation of mark trains. They can use this as the way to perfect the system so that there isn't major tie ups when relying on an all automated system.
 
A

All Disney All The Time

Well-Known Member
We have been on the monorail many times when the squirrels have caused a delay. It's hilarious each and every time. The unexpected critter encounters are always a treat. On our last trip we were eating outdoors at AK when our 26 yr. old felt something tapping on his leg. He looked down and there was a duck staring up at him. I will admit <keep in confidential> we all took turns feeding the duck, and all his friends that showed up. Several different types of birds and a bunny joined in lunch that day.
 
articos

articos

Well-Known Member
Timon said:
Seems odd they are going with a Thales automation vs Bombardier CityFLO 650. Since the Mark VI trains were made by Bombardier and their automation for the MVI has been perfected on the Las Vegas Monorail it would seem wiser to go that way and avoid potential problems + $$$.
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There is an existing relationship between Thales and Disney, and Thales cooperates with Bom and others on these projects.
 
Tom

Tom

Beta Return
s8film40 said:
Sounds like you probably just didn't notice. Up until very recently 60 second station times were very common.
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If by recently, you mean several years ago. I honestly can't remember the last time a train was in a station for less than a minute, during one of my many trips.
 
s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
edwardtc said:
If by recently, you mean several years ago. I honestly can't remember the last time a train was in a station for less than a minute, during one of my many trips.
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It's become less common with the hand signaling requirements now associated with the automatic gates, however there are still a few drivers who do still manage 60 second station times. It is also still somewhat common at the resort stations.
 

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