I am a student at TU Dortmund (where the H-Bahn is located) and have to take it on an almost daily basis. It's the best thing they could've put there - especially with the direct connection to the S-Bahn station. Fun fact: Outside of the "Campus Nord" station the operator has placed a 1984 Opel Kadett car with the inscription "Neben der H-Bahn sehe ich ganz schön alt aus - dabei sind wir der gleiche Jahrgang" - translated: "Next to the H-Bahn I look very old - although we are from the same year" I think it shows perfectly how ahead of its time the H-Bahn was (and still is)
@@qwertyTRiG That is not really true. While hanging monorails are not common (apart from the other in Dortmunt and the Woupertall, there is one rather large line in China. But straddle beam monorail and maglev monorail actually exist about 100 systems world wide. There of 9 system larger than woupertall (that have a rather large system), all of them i Asia apart from one in the US So in short. that they are extreamly uncommon is not true. They are uncommon in Europe. And Tom Scott is very wrong
@@matsv201 I'd like a source on that statement. In fact the largest suspended rail system in the world is the Chiba Urban Monorail, and it is less than 15% longer than the one in Wuppertal. (Also it's spelled Wuppertal, not "woupertall")
"Good morning and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel..."
another example of a use case where monorail is the most practical transportation method. given the short length of the line, it makes sense to have small, autonomous vehicles that can transport the high amounts of commuters at peak times but can resort to a “push to call train” mode during the off peak times. on the ground, the system takes almost no space away and its independent from traffic so there are no delays.
Advantages of this: small relatively unobtrusive elevated structure, immunity to snow with the wheels in an enclosed raceway, and even the switches are unobtrusive.
Not a good point ,they have elevated trains in chicago which gets very heavy snow fall and there isn't much of a problem.the only real advantage of this suspension style is derailments are impossible.
Leaves in autumn are much bigger problem than snow for trams. I guess light train tracks are more tolerant towards leaves. Extreme cold is then different story when brakes or transmission can freeze preventing carriage from operating or switches can freeze. Heating systems can be used to melt frozen parts but carriages don't usually have them installed but important switches do have heating systems here. Biggest advantage for elevated track is that it doesn't with other traffic allowing ground level be used for cars, cyclist and pedestrians more effectively. In many high density environment tracks are build underground which gives same advantages. I don't know how costs compare between underground tunneling and suspension structures. Dortmund design seems to be single track two-way system while high density areas pretty much require two-track system to provide much shorter time between trains.
I love how this car is kept over the ground. My town has trains, busses, trolley busses and trams (no subway, though), but traffic jams sometimes interferes with them and obstructs the public transport too. Well, except trains, of course.
Nice system that works well at university Dortmund. Disatvantage is the small capacity and limited frequency. Also disatvantage :When I was at university the train had crashed into a dumper truck, because it lifted its platform up, so it was in the way. As an automated system it was not expecting obstacles on the ride. Thankfully I think people on the train were only slightly injured. Fun fact : I once was stood up by the train when I was out drinking with friends and we wanted to take the train back home. I was smoking and therefore late and the doors just went closed and all station closed as it was the last train that night. Her sight when I came up the station and she was trying to open the door from inside the train and drove off is priceless 😂 Had to walk over the campus instead back home.
The system works well for applications where uneven terrain would make standard trams impractical. However the trade off is the amount of steel required is 75-100x of standard two track tram lines (the steel trackway and supports use A LOT of steel). So it only makes economic sense for shorter applications or where trams sharing at-grade track along with cars, bikes, pedestrians would make surface traffic much worse (e.g. Wuppertal is a narrow string of towns and no room for tram lines on the few existing streets, so it’s over the river to save space.) Also notice there’s only one train set at a time between stations to save the need for dual tracks requiring even more steel. This means the hourly capacity is much lower than “normal” tram lines which are usually dual trackways is opposite directions.
Depending on the distance between the stations. If you got 1 min "stop" and 1 min drive that could be 500-600m between stations...and that is even faster then tram. And it would work with a cab in every station per direction. a single track would be enough would the tech. The only problem is discipline...you need to keep the time exactly...no waiting for people...red light on,close the door and go. Wuppertal is 100 year older and they have to Bend the track like the monorail if they need to change track (at the depot)...so the tech advanced a lot
Just thinking it over, it would be even faster with a cab at every second station. You would have to wait for the other cab, you are clear to go. That way you could even compensate a delay and it would not affect the whole system immediately, and after a cycle it is sync again. Just in worst cade a cab in that line was "cancelled".
Once I had fun riding this HTrain in a pretty heavy storm :D (I used it on a daily base). Nothing else was running, but the sky train was :D and it felt a bit like a rollercoaster :D
30 years ago I did soil investigation along many Southern California freeways in preparation for this system.....it never was built . An ideal system ! Thank you .
I think this is a great system, it could be used in so many situations, and it seems would be easy to retro-ft in most cities, compared to underground or even tramways.
Lay people don't understand that erecting any supporting column is a major engineering challenge. You have to either drill to bedrock or install enough pilings to support the column and anything it supports. That's why the difference in price between monorail and conventional rail or rubber tired people mover or whatever is almost trivial.
@@HSMiyamoto Traditional rails in nature often fragment habitats and on top of this rail companies use herbicides to keep the rails free from plants. I think drilling holes into the bedrock is less harmful.
@@mrm7058 Obviously, you know nothing about civil engineering. Excavation of any kind requires extension utility relocation and site preparation. I can't believe how many people think massive columns are inserted into the ground like telegraph poles on a model railroad.
@der Führer Aerial probably is always less expensive per-mile than boring a new tunnel. (Old tunnels have been used for urban rail in many cities, including Vancouver and St. Louis) However, in Honolulu, land is so expensive that going aerial was a preferable choice to buying large amounts of commercial land with going businesses. In another case, San Diego decided to build a tunnel and underground station under San Diego State University rather than building an at-grade line around the campus, as originally planned, when the cost difference proved to be smaller than originally predicted. Civil engineering decisions are always site-specific.
@@EezeeListen No, it's at the university campus, which is a bit outside the city center. Best way to get there is to take the S-Bahn direction Düsseldorf and get off at the university stop - the H-Bahn stop is right above it.
I always thought the hanging railway in Wuppertal was unique, and even when I was in that region of Germany on a school exchange in the early 90s (we were based around Wesel), we learned about and went on the Wuppertal system but were never told about this.
I found this really interesting and had to search a bit more information about the railway. I thought it was a new track, but no! It opened in 1984. Stations, structures or trams certainly don't look so old. Well-kept and an ahead of it's time. It looks a bit sci-fi (in a good way) but I'd love to see this kind of transit system also in other cities.
@@Beos_Valrah & Peter. Thanks, I did some googling and have to say the Schwebebahn looks so cool! Especially the old picture with circus elephant riding it. Well trying to ride it..
Now that looks like a good invention to me... It looks like a fast ride to me and a nice view on the scenery below... Not sure how well this will do with freezing weather, but all in all, I wonder why this hasn't been used more... Oh well...
The reason this is a thing is prolly cus alot of places in germany dont have that much undeveloped land anymore to put a transport system like trams or trains. I mean without having to rebuild half the city... The wuppertal one was constucted due to this reason i believe
Interesting how the track configuration of the H-Bahn is similar to the Shonan Monorail in Japan - single-track between stations, with two tracks and an island platform at stations that also act as passing loops. Both are also SAFEGE suspended monorails, but while the Shonan Monorail is driver-operated, the H-Bahn is driverless automated. Quite interesting to compare the similarities and differences between these two systems.
@@sinancaliskan2048 just have a look at the Original Suspension Railway in Wuppertal called "Schwebebahn" that's what he means by Half Life meets Wuppertal. The Schwebebahn has been a public Transport since 1903 making it the oldest and first Suspension Railway.
This is cool, could see this system being useful in some situations in a suburban area above a congested urban boulevard. in Montreal Sources Blvd, St. John's in the West Island would be good candidates. Montreal should check this out, cheaper than digging metros
There is a monorail albeit on a larger scale in Tokyo that goes from the city to Haneda Airport and beyond = also very efficient and very cool and dating from the 70's/early 80's
Wunderbar!! We could do with a few of these things in England. Love the way the pedestrian below the train mysteriously disappears at 12:03. Maybe he didn't pay the fare?
The engineering behind this system is very interesting. The pylons supporting the system are surprisingly slender. This could be a good solution for airport trains in many cities.
Now they will have to invent a robotic suspended camera to detect birds , squirrels and other animals and keep them off the rails in the sky . Cool stuff !
The problem with any single track reversible line system, whether above ground, on the ground or below the ground, is that it relies on passing places. Trains can only cross at stations where the track is doubled. This means that there are likely to be fewer trains than on a two track system, and a problem in one direction affects the trains going in the other direction . . .
If someone knowledgeable enough can answer this question, would this type of suspended tram be cheaper to build and easier to construct versus a subway / underground metro?
Not an expert. Probably a really close call. Subway pros: weather agnostic. Little heating & cooling but high ventilation demands. Subway cons: all that digging. Conflicts with existing underground utilities. Conflicts with building foundations. Flooding worries. Highly susceptible to earthquakes. H-bahn pros: small surface footprint. Co-existing with other transport. Utility conflicts likely easier to deal with. More charismatic. H-bahn cons: susceptible to weather. Heating/cooling demands.
The problem is that the technique is already very old (1980s). Right now, this kind of train is only used at airports and the Dortmund University with max capacities of ~2000 people per hour. In order to turn it into an actual mass transport system, larger cars, double tracks etc. are necessary. This would again entail enormous costs for planning and research. Siemens, the manufacturer of the H-Bahn, now relies entirely on VAL, an automated, particularly light tram with its own track rails. This can already be seen in Turin, Paris, Lille, Rennes and Asia.
@@hifijohn For people who live in a mountainous region and/or one that is prone to earthquakes such as myself, the standard elevated rail seen in NYC and Chicago would not suffice as they are optimally used on relatively flat regions that have little to no seismic activity.
Look at japan, they have tall skyscrapers and high speed trains in one of the most seismic active areas of the world. Anything can be made earthquake resistant but the cost could be prohibitive.
height of the track lets more sunlight on to the street avoiding dark shadows. space saving of suspended monorails is the name of the game here. as trams on the ground do add to traffic congestion. however is it technically possible? to add a telescoping transfer elevator pod suspended from the tram, so no big bulky platforms are needed, at street level, at every tram stop. the trade-off would be more tram mass with lass passengers, as any telescoping elevator passenger transfer pod, would need compact on board counterweight systems .- It was just a thought. beam me up scotty , because scotty maybe a future suspended maglev monorail driver. :-) see this old movie th-cam.com/video/poQ25pFXIRg/w-d-xo.html
In India this type of experiment done in punjim Goa...but only testing track is done... We named it " skybus" but its unpopular bcoz it's capacity in very less that we required in India.. to move lots of population.. movie started look towards metro rail project...it was shutdown now
I took a look at that "skybus". Problem 1: If you are densely populated and traffic heavy, 2-cars train is too short. The technology has no limit in car number. Use a longer train! Problem 2: The SAFEGE design of suspended railway in other countries use an extremely narrow gauge. Therefore they don't block the view of sky. Standard gauge of "skybus" in India lost that advantage. Problem 3: All other suspended railway use only steel for both support and track, with no concrete. Therefore their pillars are a lot thinner. The "skybus" in India used concrete everywhere which makes things thick. The pillar-hitting accident might have been avoided if they followed foreign convention and provided more swinging space.
This system connects a few stops on the university campus with a "S-Bahn" Station. He probably filmed it on the weekend, to film undisturbed. If not weekend, he picked a time were no classes are ending or starting, something like that. Almost anyone who takes that thing has something to do with thw university.
It's 10:35 AM, probably on a weekend. And it's looking so nice because it's an ~old~ industrial center, meaning most of the heavy industry has moved away by now. What's left is car manufacturers, telecommunications, offices headquarters and a lot of education. Universities nowadays also tend to build their campuses in the outskirts of the cities rather than the industrial zones.
i wish America had these....especially one in Chicago where i live. these look so fun to ride in!! heck id probably go on one just to ride it...lol. We have El trains but thats not as fun as just hanging with nothing under....
girlstorm09 no place to run em in Chicago . You are better off expanding Metra service and running it like an S-bahn network and separating some metro El lines to serve new areas via reroutes.
i as a Wuppertaler don't really have a problem with the noise and space from the Schwebebahn, and that's what all Wuppertaler feel like, it's because the Schwebebahn is basically our huge pride, and we surely love to have it in our city.
Ach so,nur eine Teststrecke. Die bezeichnung ist auch sehr korrekt,statt Wuppertaler "Schwebebahn" muss es auch Hängebahn heißen,da es ja nun mal auch nach unten hängt und fährt. Schweben tut nur der Transrapid!
Es wundert mich das bei einem so deutschen Video fast kein einziger Kommentar deutsch ist!
I am a student at TU Dortmund (where the H-Bahn is located) and have to take it on an almost daily basis. It's the best thing they could've put there - especially with the direct connection to the S-Bahn station.
Fun fact: Outside of the "Campus Nord" station the operator has placed a 1984 Opel Kadett car with the inscription "Neben der H-Bahn sehe ich ganz schön alt aus - dabei sind wir der gleiche Jahrgang" - translated: "Next to the H-Bahn I look very old - although we are from the same year"
I think it shows perfectly how ahead of its time the H-Bahn was (and still is)
Its strange that suspended and monorail trains are so uncommon in Europe...
@@matsv201 They're not common anywhere. Tom Scott and The Tim Traveller both have separate videos from Wuppertal explaining why.
@@qwertyTRiG That is not really true. While hanging monorails are not common (apart from the other in Dortmunt and the Woupertall, there is one rather large line in China.
But straddle beam monorail and maglev monorail actually exist about 100 systems world wide. There of 9 system larger than woupertall (that have a rather large system), all of them i Asia apart from one in the US
So in short. that they are extreamly uncommon is not true. They are uncommon in Europe. And Tom Scott is very wrong
@@matsv201 I'd like a source on that statement. In fact the largest suspended rail system in the world is the Chiba Urban Monorail, and it is less than 15% longer than the one in Wuppertal.
(Also it's spelled Wuppertal, not "woupertall")
@@Friek555 read my coment again
"Good morning and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System.
This automated train is provided for the security and
convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel..."
Nächste halt, Universität
Good association :) Nice to remember those times.
another example of a use case where monorail is the most practical transportation method. given the short length of the line, it makes sense to have small, autonomous vehicles that can transport the high amounts of commuters at peak times but can resort to a “push to call train” mode during the off peak times. on the ground, the system takes almost no space away and its independent from traffic so there are no delays.
Advantages of this: small relatively unobtrusive elevated structure, immunity to snow with the wheels in an enclosed raceway, and even the switches are unobtrusive.
Not a good point ,they have elevated trains in chicago which gets very heavy snow fall and there isn't much of a problem.the only real advantage of this suspension style is derailments are impossible.
Leaves in autumn are much bigger problem than snow for trams. I guess light train tracks are more tolerant towards leaves. Extreme cold is then different story when brakes or transmission can freeze preventing carriage from operating or switches can freeze. Heating systems can be used to melt frozen parts but carriages don't usually have them installed but important switches do have heating systems here.
Biggest advantage for elevated track is that it doesn't with other traffic allowing ground level be used for cars, cyclist and pedestrians more effectively. In many high density environment tracks are build underground which gives same advantages. I don't know how costs compare between underground tunneling and suspension structures. Dortmund design seems to be single track two-way system while high density areas pretty much require two-track system to provide much shorter time between trains.
pauli-underground is safe from the weather, so it should last much longer its also quiet.Elevated trains are very loud.
Only small population countries looking towards it. Because it has this capacity than metro rail and infrastructure cost is more than benefits from it
also impossible to have collisions with traffic
This is very smart idea and extremely impressed with the blend of landscape, walking path are well kept
I love how this car is kept over the ground. My town has trains, busses, trolley busses and trams (no subway, though), but traffic jams sometimes interferes with them and obstructs the public transport too. Well, except trains, of course.
I love it! It ran a red light...5 meters in the air!!!
The stations, landscape train are kept immaculate
Nice system that works well at university Dortmund.
Disatvantage is the small capacity and limited frequency.
Also disatvantage :When I was at university the train had crashed into a dumper truck, because it lifted its platform up, so it was in the way. As an automated system it was not expecting obstacles on the ride. Thankfully I think people on the train were only slightly injured.
Fun fact : I once was stood up by the train when I was out drinking with friends and we wanted to take the train back home.
I was smoking and therefore late and the doors just went closed and all station closed as it was the last train that night. Her sight when I came up the station and she was trying to open the door from inside the train and drove off is priceless 😂
Had to walk over the campus instead back home.
The system works well for applications where uneven terrain would make standard trams impractical. However the trade off is the amount of steel required is 75-100x of standard two track tram lines (the steel trackway and supports use A LOT of steel). So it only makes economic sense for shorter applications or where trams sharing at-grade track along with cars, bikes, pedestrians would make surface traffic much worse (e.g. Wuppertal is a narrow string of towns and no room for tram lines on the few existing streets, so it’s over the river to save space.)
Also notice there’s only one train set at a time between stations to save the need for dual tracks requiring even more steel. This means the hourly capacity is much lower than “normal” tram lines which are usually dual trackways is opposite directions.
Depending on the distance between the stations. If you got 1 min "stop" and 1 min drive that could be 500-600m between stations...and that is even faster then tram. And it would work with a cab in every station per direction. a single track would be enough would the tech. The only problem is discipline...you need to keep the time exactly...no waiting for people...red light on,close the door and go. Wuppertal is 100 year older and they have to Bend the track like the monorail if they need to change track (at the depot)...so the tech advanced a lot
Just thinking it over, it would be even faster with a cab at every second station. You would have to wait for the other cab, you are clear to go. That way you could even compensate a delay and it would not affect the whole system immediately, and after a cycle it is sync again. Just in worst cade a cab in that line was "cancelled".
This should not require any more steel that a surface track except for the pylons but that is offset by the steel in surface bridges and conduits
We need more of this type of transportation here in the US..
@Ora Zukermann lol your english sucks.
@@gameonmove9531 just let him speak even it's wrong grammar or suck in English tf..
This H-Bahn is the sign of a visionary. It is clean, well kept. Exceptional idea for modern times.
Modern times. Mhm. Google for Wuppertal Schwebebahn. Opened in 1901. Modern times. Mhm.
Schwebahn in wuppertal opened more than hundred years ago and look away better than this one
That's most fascinating video for me on TH-cam... I'm environmental landscape guy so, that's becoming my favorite
Once I had fun riding this HTrain in a pretty heavy storm :D (I used it on a daily base). Nothing else was running, but the sky train was :D and it felt a bit like a rollercoaster :D
30 years ago I did soil investigation along many Southern California freeways in preparation for this system.....it never was built . An ideal system !
Thank you .
wait what? is this research or proposal posted anywhere?
very nice. its efficiency and comfort is off the charts. hassle free to watch
This makes so much more sense than taking space that is suppose to be used for cars in big cities.
I think this is a great system, it could be used in so many situations, and it seems would be easy to retro-ft in most cities, compared to underground or even tramways.
Lay people don't understand that erecting any supporting column is a major engineering challenge. You have to either drill to bedrock or install enough pilings to support the column and anything it supports. That's why the difference in price between monorail and conventional rail or rubber tired people mover or whatever is almost trivial.
@@HSMiyamoto Traditional rails in nature often fragment habitats and on top of this rail companies use herbicides to keep the rails free from plants. I think drilling holes into the bedrock is less harmful.
@@mrm7058 Obviously, you know nothing about civil engineering. Excavation of any kind requires extension utility relocation and site preparation. I can't believe how many people think massive columns are inserted into the ground like telegraph poles on a model railroad.
@der Führer Aerial probably is always less expensive per-mile than boring a new tunnel. (Old tunnels have been used for urban rail in many cities, including Vancouver and St. Louis)
However, in Honolulu, land is so expensive that going aerial was a preferable choice to buying large amounts of commercial land with going businesses. In another case, San Diego decided to build a tunnel and underground station under San Diego State University rather than building an at-grade line around the campus, as originally planned, when the cost difference proved to be smaller than originally predicted. Civil engineering decisions are always site-specific.
Exept geographically active ones...
I drove with it for myself and it was a cool experience, especially the tight part where you "fly" through the forest :D
My wife and I were I Dortmund last year (lovely city and very friendly) and if I could have found this I would have traveled on it
Haha :) All you had to do was look up :-))
@@EezeeListen
No, it's at the university campus, which is a bit outside the city center. Best way to get there is to take the S-Bahn direction Düsseldorf and get off at the university stop - the H-Bahn stop is right above it.
You must try the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal! 😊
I always thought the hanging railway in Wuppertal was unique, and even when I was in that region of Germany on a school exchange in the early 90s (we were based around Wesel), we learned about and went on the Wuppertal system but were never told about this.
I miss my old time during 2003 - 2010.
Beautiful....I will fly from US to Germany to ride such public transportation
There are - to my knowledge - only two systems of that kind in place. At TU Dortmund University and at Düsseldorf airport.
@@Dethleffff ehhh.... was ist mit wuppertal?
@@lage8617
Dortmund und Düsseldorf sind automatische Systeme. Die Wuppertaler Schwebebahn wird von Lokführern gesteuert
Now arriving at...Sector C Test Labs, and Control Facilities...
I thought Wuppertal was the only German city with a Schwebebahn.
That's what I thought, too. Then I learned there is also a short one in Dresden.
There is also the Skytrain at Düsseldorf Airport.
@@mcterb7142 The Skytrain at Düsseldorf Airport is basically an adaptation of the Dortmund H-Bahn.
Wuppertal has one of the oldest ones, integrated into the whole city concept
So did I.
Great idea - so quiet and so CLEAN ... here in uk that would be trashed in 5 minutes
It would be hard to resist forcing the doors open so you can piss down on the cars below.
@@joinedupjon lol
We should have these everywhere.
Why? Look how empty it was. Looks like a waste of resources.
If I am born again, this is the city I would want to be born in! Beautiful!
What a fabulous railway!
I found this really interesting and had to search a bit more information about the railway. I thought it was a new track, but no! It opened in 1984. Stations, structures or trams certainly don't look so old. Well-kept and an ahead of it's time. It looks a bit sci-fi (in a good way) but I'd love to see this kind of transit system also in other cities.
You should look into the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal. It's a similar system, but 120 years old (renovated a few times obviously)
There are similar transit systems in Japan too, look it up :)
@@Beos_Valrah & Peter. Thanks, I did some googling and have to say the Schwebebahn looks so cool! Especially the old picture with circus elephant riding it. Well trying to ride it..
Now that looks like a good invention to me... It looks like a fast ride to me and a nice view on the scenery below... Not sure how well this will do with freezing weather, but all in all, I wonder why this hasn't been used more... Oh well...
Same, I think this has a lot of potential!
The reason this is a thing is prolly cus alot of places in germany dont have that much undeveloped land anymore to put a transport system like trams or trains. I mean without having to rebuild half the city... The wuppertal one was constucted due to this reason i believe
The city is so beautiful.
It’s only the University. We Germans think its ugly.
@@emergcon 😧
Interesting how the track configuration of the H-Bahn is similar to the Shonan Monorail in Japan - single-track between stations, with two tracks and an island platform at stations that also act as passing loops.
Both are also SAFEGE suspended monorails, but while the Shonan Monorail is driver-operated, the H-Bahn is driverless automated.
Quite interesting to compare the similarities and differences between these two systems.
Schöne Aussicht!
Half life meets Wuppertal.
Wow this is a beautiful Transp system
Less construction less noise
More streamlined
Easier cleaner simple faster and more efficient
Thanks
So much more that you can see!
fewer extradimensional explosions is always a plus.
Its Dortmund bro :D
@@sinancaliskan2048 just have a look at the Original Suspension Railway in Wuppertal called "Schwebebahn" that's what he means by Half Life meets Wuppertal. The Schwebebahn has been a public Transport since 1903 making it the oldest and first Suspension Railway.
What a wonderful system. Wish it was here.
This is cool, could see this system being useful in some situations in a suburban area above a congested urban boulevard. in Montreal Sources Blvd, St. John's in the West Island would be good candidates. Montreal should check this out, cheaper than digging metros
it looks and sounds so 80s
lovely
Awesome system. It just works for the population size without costing a fortune.
There is a monorail albeit on a larger scale in Tokyo that goes from the city to Haneda Airport and beyond = also very efficient and very cool and dating from the 70's/early 80's
Wunderbar!! We could do with a few of these things in England. Love the way the pedestrian below the train mysteriously disappears at 12:03. Maybe he didn't pay the fare?
I were so many times iN Dortmund, even crossed that S Bahn Station...but never seen that skyline railway before.
Its sound so smooth!!
The engineering behind this system is very interesting. The pylons supporting the system are surprisingly slender. This could be a good solution for airport trains in many cities.
The same system is in use at Düsseldorf Airport
We need this in London !!!
Very interesting, thanks for uploading this. Limited capacity though but seemes very suitable for mid sized cities.
This is so Cool i wish there was one of theese in Norway its like a Upsidedown monorail
Go have a look at the Wuppertaler "Schwebebahn" it's a really unique Suspension Rail! It's the over 100 years old and the oldest and first!
❤ Dortmund
Strictly speaking, it’s not a S-Bahn - this is a true monorail in Dortmund! 😊
Monorails are great!! they hang on a smaller footprint than the old EL elevated stuff and are nicer looking
Have a look at the Wuppertaler "Schwebebahn"!
No
Please come to the US, we need our rail system updated. Traveling by car is expensive, and not everyone can afford them.
Wow, really cool system! I want to try it!
I love it !
So the train goes front and back direction sharing the same track? cool!
Enough space and time for NYC, above ground.
Sehr gut!!
Now they will have to invent a robotic suspended camera to detect birds , squirrels and other animals and keep them off the rails in the sky . Cool stuff !
Very nice
Everybody: "Nnnooooo! Monorails are sooo innefective!"
Germany and Japan: "Lol fuck you"
Reminds me a bit of riding the Monorail in Seattle. Vastly under used method of transit imo.
The problem with any single track reversible line system, whether above ground, on the ground or below the ground, is that it relies on passing places. Trains can only cross at stations where the track is doubled. This means that there are likely to be fewer trains than on a two track system, and a problem in one direction affects the trains going in the other direction . . .
If someone knowledgeable enough can answer this question, would this type of suspended tram be cheaper to build and easier to construct versus a subway / underground metro?
Not an expert. Probably a really close call.
Subway pros: weather agnostic. Little heating & cooling but high ventilation demands.
Subway cons: all that digging. Conflicts with existing underground utilities. Conflicts with building foundations. Flooding worries. Highly susceptible to earthquakes.
H-bahn pros: small surface footprint. Co-existing with other transport. Utility conflicts likely easier to deal with. More charismatic.
H-bahn cons: susceptible to weather. Heating/cooling demands.
The problem is that the technique is already very old (1980s). Right now, this kind of train is only used at airports and the Dortmund University with max capacities of ~2000 people per hour. In order to turn it into an actual mass transport system, larger cars, double tracks etc. are necessary. This would again entail enormous costs for planning and research. Siemens, the manufacturer of the H-Bahn, now relies entirely on VAL, an automated, particularly light tram with its own track rails. This can already be seen in Turin, Paris, Lille, Rennes and Asia.
Or just build an elevated train like they have in chicago or parts of new york city.
@@hifijohn For people who live in a mountainous region and/or one that is prone to earthquakes such as myself, the standard elevated rail seen in NYC and Chicago would not suffice as they are optimally used on relatively flat regions that have little to no seismic activity.
Look at japan, they have tall skyscrapers and high speed trains in one of the most seismic active areas of the world. Anything can be made earthquake resistant but the cost could be prohibitive.
Oh boy, I miss Germany!
That nice Nixter Halte lady gets everywhere!
Anyone know how long it is? I find this very fascinating.
Wikipedia says 3,162km
Just two miles.
For more information, station has a website. h-bahn.info/en/h-bahn-dortmund/route-map/timetable/?station=5
height of the track lets more sunlight on to the street avoiding dark shadows. space saving of suspended monorails is the name of the game here. as trams on the ground do add to traffic congestion. however is it technically possible? to add a telescoping transfer elevator pod suspended from the tram, so no big bulky platforms are needed, at street level, at every tram stop. the trade-off would be more tram mass with lass passengers, as any telescoping elevator passenger transfer pod, would need compact on board counterweight systems .- It was just a thought. beam me up scotty , because scotty maybe a future suspended maglev monorail driver. :-) see this old movie th-cam.com/video/poQ25pFXIRg/w-d-xo.html
Very nice , this would be very useful for our metro cities in india.
It failed in Goa during trail runs
Brilliant
Nice - but where are the passengers?
Could use this in Atlanta, for GSU.
It would be cool on the beltline
nice
Cities like LA could have placed this sort of system....
LA should have this monorail type system
LA already have a pair of these inverted railways. Both are located at Knots Berry Farm as inverted roller coasters.
Going backwards is way more fun!
In India this type of experiment done in punjim Goa...but only testing track is done...
We named it " skybus" but its unpopular bcoz it's capacity in very less that we required in India.. to move lots of population.. movie started look towards metro rail project...it was shutdown now
I took a look at that "skybus".
Problem 1: If you are densely populated and traffic heavy, 2-cars train is too short. The technology has no limit in car number. Use a longer train!
Problem 2: The SAFEGE design of suspended railway in other countries use an extremely narrow gauge. Therefore they don't block the view of sky. Standard gauge of "skybus" in India lost that advantage.
Problem 3: All other suspended railway use only steel for both support and track, with no concrete. Therefore their pillars are a lot thinner. The "skybus" in India used concrete everywhere which makes things thick. The pillar-hitting accident might have been avoided if they followed foreign convention and provided more swinging space.
Great...nice video !!!
A busy day on the H-bahn.
the driving noise is massivley exaggerated because of the mounting of the camera.
any idea how to fix such a problem?
"Heinz, ist das eine Resonanzkaskade?"
"Nein Mutti, dass sind nur die Nordlichter!"
Was bedeutet das
I wish my city has this mode of transportation. Is it cheaper to build?
What time of day was this? What's it like in rush hour? Why is Dortmund so pretty? I thought it was an old industrial city.
This system connects a few stops on the university campus with a "S-Bahn" Station. He probably filmed it on the weekend, to film undisturbed. If not weekend, he picked a time were no classes are ending or starting, something like that. Almost anyone who takes that thing has something to do with thw university.
It's 10:35 AM, probably on a weekend. And it's looking so nice because it's an ~old~ industrial center, meaning most of the heavy industry has moved away by now. What's left is car manufacturers, telecommunications, offices headquarters and a lot of education. Universities nowadays also tend to build their campuses in the outskirts of the cities rather than the industrial zones.
Where are the customers?
Wuppertal is the original from 1899
who else was waiting for a looping after the next turn? ;)
i wish America had these....especially one in Chicago where i live. these look so fun to ride in!! heck id probably go on one just to ride it...lol. We have El trains but thats not as fun as just hanging with nothing under....
girlstorm09 no place to run em in Chicago . You are better off expanding Metra service and running it like an S-bahn network and separating some metro El lines to serve new areas via reroutes.
Beau petit monorail, mais il ne semble pas très utilisé, pourquoi?
il sert seulement l'université
Same system with two lines is running on Duesseldorf Airport
What would be nice is if it told you the history of Dortmund, as well as specific landmarks when you pass them.
Witam taką kolejkę mogli by zrobić w Jeleniej Górze albo w innych miastach Polski
Feels like in flying car.
Wuppertal seems to have given a good idea for other cities..
Certainly seems to have a very small footprint at street level, and takes up a lot less space than the Wuppertal system.
i as a Wuppertaler don't really have a problem with the noise and space from the Schwebebahn, and that's what all Wuppertaler feel like, it's because the Schwebebahn is basically our huge pride, and we surely love to have it in our city.
Looks fun. I thought it was a fairground ride.
Man if only here in the US would have something like that put in places like the inner city or something
I'm confused. Where are the handicapped and lavatory areas?
Ach so,nur eine Teststrecke. Die bezeichnung ist auch sehr korrekt,statt Wuppertaler "Schwebebahn" muss es auch Hängebahn heißen,da es ja nun mal auch nach unten hängt und fährt. Schweben tut nur der Transrapid!
That is cool cool man
gostei do bondinho, ia ser muito legal um desse nos morros do rio de janeiro.