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Urbanaut® Puget Sound Regional Monorail Master Plan (PSRMM)

The PSRMM Plan, as outlined below, applies the Urbanaut® technology, a new, unique, high tech monorail with numerous practical, technical, and environment advantages that cost less to install and operate. Urbanaut® has far more flexibility than any other monorail and it is not dependent on a beamway. Future additions and deletions can be made much easier with the Urbanaut®, with several options of lightweight guideway design and components.

PUGET SOUND REGIONAL URBANAUT® MONORAIL MASTER PLAN
Illustration 1

PugetSoundMasterPlanblue1.jpg (52313 bytes)

The Puget Sound Regional Monorail Master Plan proposed for the Central Puget Sound, Washington, USA (Illustration #1) involves high capacity dual guideways along the following corridors:

  1. A West Side Trunk Line along Highway 99 from SeaTac Airport in the south to Everett in the north.
  2. An East Side Trunk line from SeaTac airport through Renton and Bellevue, with the northern portion along Highway 527, to Everett in the north.
  3. A Central Connector between the West and East-side Trunk lines will be across the Lake Washington 520 Floating Bridge by adding a pontoon to each side of the bridge for 2 Urbanaut® guideways.

Basically the overall perspective view of the PSRMM plan will be a configuration 8 layout with dual high speed switching connecting east and west ends of the 520 Central Connector across Lake Washington.

A regional configuration 8 plan, as shown, gives most flexibility and efficiency in a high capacity monorail distribution plan because it provides the passenger several route options, namely:

  1. One large perimeter loop
  2. 2 loops, 1 north and 1 south of 520
  3. A total figure-8 configuration plan
  4. All options are reversible.

With the trains stopping at every station at 2 miles apart, the maximum speed will be 80 mph (128 km/hr). For a traveling schedule where the trains stop every second station, or 4 miles apart the maximum potential speed is 115 mph (185 km/hr). This is close to the maximum allowable speed limit on a highway's right-of-way due to existing curvatures.

The system will have large, 2-level high capacity intersection stations incorporating organized passenger feeding and supply systems, including facilities for loading and unloading of buses and vans, park and ride, car pools, and private carriers.

 

 

SHORELINE, WASHINGTON URBANAUT® CIRCULATOR
HIGH CAPACITY MONORAIL TRUNKLINE
Detail of Master Plan
Illustration 2

ShorelineCirculator-color.jpg (60141 bytes)

In addition special smaller, independent single guideway Urbanaut® monorail circulators, extending into high density communities, will interact continuously with passenger transfer to and from the trunk line. The circulators using smaller vehicles will have dual functions:

1.   To distribute passengers within the community;

2.   To feed (unload and load) the trunk line by transfer or switching of vehicles directly onto the trunk line.

The Urbanaut® is the only monorail system where smaller vehicles operating on a smaller guide way can be switched onto a larger high capacity guide way.

An example of such a community circulation system is the single guide way layout recommended for the City of Shoreline (Illustration #2, "Circulator for City of Shoreline – Detail of Master Plan").

The Shoreline Circulator, using smaller vehicles, will serve schools, community colleges, public centers and shopping plazas, in addition to residential and multiple housing areas.

                                                                                                                

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