The Sydney Monorail (originally TNT Harbourlink and later Metro Monorail) was a single-loop monorail in Sydney, that connected Darling Harbour, Chinatown and the Sydney central business and shopping districts. It opened on 21 July 1988 and closed on 30 June 2013.Last stop for Sydney Monorail Daily Telegraph 23 March 2012
There were eight stations on the loop, with up to six trains operating simultaneously. It served major attractions and facilities such as the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. The system was operated by Veolia Transport Sydney, a former subsidiary of Veolia Transport and a subsidiary of Veolia Transdev at the time of cessation.
History As part of the redevelopment of of land at Darling Harbour, it was proposed to build a transport link to the Sydney central business district. Sydney City Council preferred a light rail line, however in November 1985 Transport Minister Laurie Brereton announced a monorail would be built."Motorail wins Darling Harbour" Railway Gazette International December 1985 page 901Monorail for Sydney Rails April 1986 page 195
Before November 1984, the consultants Pak-Poy & Kneebone Pty. Ltd. were engaged by the Ministry of Transport and the Public Works Department "to assess the physical and financial feasibility of new light rail systems in the Sydney Central Business District". The assessment was "with particular application to the Darling Harbour Re-Development" but included possible extension to other locations.
In "early 1985" the Darling Harbour Authority received more than 20 expressions of interest for a proposed people mover. The monorail was hinted at in the August 1985 Glebe Island Arterial (Anzac Bridge) Environmental Impact Statement before the public announcement. It stated a "people mover" was being considered at Darling Harbour, but that details were not available at the time of writing. Other options under consideration included new ferry services and a shuttle rail service to a new passenger station near the Powerhouse Museum. TNT's monorail proposal won formal cabinet selection in October 1985.
The first test services ran in October 1987 on a 500-metre section at Darling Harbour."Monorail's First Tests" Railway Digest December 1987 page 389 Initially operated by TNT Harbourlink, the monorail opened on 21 July 1988 after a construction period of 26 months. The monorail was originally due to be completed by January 1988, to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary. TNT Harbourlink was awarded a 50-year concession until 2038.Sydney Light Rail Extension Stage 1 Inner West Extension Transport NSW July 2010
The original operation hours were to be 06:00 to midnight, but after two years of operation patronage counts were half those expected, and planned stations at Market Street (to be named Casino, as part of the gaming venue planned to be built on the site) and Harbour Street (to be named Gardenside) were not built for some time.
Metro Transport Sydney ownership
After TNT was purchased by PTT in January 1997 and merged to form TNT Post Group in 1998, TNT decided to dispose of its businesses not centred on mail and logistics services, including the Sydney monorail. On 10 August 1998, TNT sold the monorail to CGEA Transport Sydney, which was owned by CGEA Transport (later renamed Connex, then Veolia Transport) (51%) and Australian Infrastructure Fund (19%), Utilities Trust of Australia (19%) and Legal & General (11%).Stock Exchange Announcement Australian Infrastructure Fund 11 August 1998Non-core business TNT Annual Report 1998 The latter three also owned the Sydney Light Rail Company (SLRC), which owned the Metro Light Rail (now Sydney Light Rail) on a 30.5 year concession since 1997 by the Government of New South Wales. Connex (renamed from CGEA Transport in 1999) sold its share of the monorail in early 2001 to the SLRC, but remained as the operator of the monorail. As a result, SLRC owned both the monorail and light rail and combined with CGEA Transport to form Metro Transport Sydney.
The monorail operator was renamed to Veolia Transport Sydney in 2005 as part of the global Veolia rebranding from Connex to Veolia Transport. In 2011, Veolia Transport globally merged with the old Transdev to form Veolia Transdev, and Veolia Transport Sydney became a subsidiary of Veolia Transdev (now Transdev).
Government takeover and cessation
The Government of New South Wales bought both the monorail and the light rail service from Metro Transport Sydney on 23 March 2012 to enable it to extend the light rail system without having to negotiate with the private owners, and to remove the monorail from the area near Haymarket required for the expanded Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. Veolia Transport Sydney continued to operate the light rail and monorail after the government takeover.
The monorail ceased operating on 30 June 2013 and all sections of track and some of the stations have been dismantled.Monorail Removal Project Transport for NSW 13 December 2013 Around 70 million passenger journeys were made on the line during its lifetime. Two carriages and 10 metres of track have been preserved at the Powerhouse Museum."Sydney's monorail hands $70,000 to sick children as parting gift to city" Daily Telegraph 8 July 2013"Farewell to Sydney’s Monorail" Powerhouse Museum 1 July 2013 Two carriages are being used as meeting rooms at Google's Pyrmont offices."Sydney Monorail becomes Google office space" Special Broadcasting Service 9 October 2013
Ticketing and concessions
Payment for single journeys was made by tokens inserted into the turnstile. For multiple journeys, customers could purchase pre-paid cards. TNT launched the Harbourlink card shortly after the monorail opened. The next card type was introduced when CGEA Transport (later Metro Transport Sydney) took over monorail operations. This card was based on magnetic stripe technology and called the METROCard. Shortly before the closure of the Monorail, a new contactless card was introduced called smart.
Technology
The track was a steel box girder of width, raised at a minimum height of from ground level on steel columns apart. The minimum curve radius was , and the maximum gradient 4.4% uphill and 6.5% downhill.
Power was supplied at 500 V 50 Hz 3-phase AC to power the train, via a sheathed conductor below the running plate of the track. A control rail was also provided for train control, and a generator provided to clear trains from the track in emergencies. The train control and maintenance facility was located between Convention and Paddy's Market stations, where a traverser moved trains in and out of service.
Each station stop took 40 seconds, including the time to decelerate, board passengers, and accelerate again. A complete circuit of the route took 12 minutes. It was originally intended for the system to operate automatically, but after a number of breakdowns soon after opening, it was decided to retain drivers, who occupied the first car of each train.
Rolling stock
Delivered in 1987, six trains of seven carriages were built by Von Roll Holding to the Mk III specification. Each seated 48 passengers, with the driver occupying the leading carriage. (They were designed to seat 56, using all seven carriages.) The first was displayed at the Trans Public Show in Geneva, Switzerland in May 1987."Metros" Railway Gazette International June 1987 page 357
The monorail trains ran on rubber wheels, and each seven-car train had six traction motors, permitting a normal operating speed of . The doors of each car were automatic, and the floor level was self-adjusting via an automatic suspension system. Each train was long, wide, and high.
Set 1 was stored following a significant collision between it and Set 4 in early 2010. The last carriage in Set 1 was removed from the set, and used to replace the damaged last carriage in Set 4. When operations ceased in June 2013, sets 2 – 6 were operational.
Stations The monorail operated in a single anticlockwise loop with stops at the following stations (in order):Network & Stations Sydney Monorail NameImageNotesCity CentreA temporary station existed until mid-1989, during construction of the City Centre Shopping Arcade, the temporary station was partially suspended above Pitt StreetDarling ParkOriginally planned to be named Casino, but Sydney's casino was eventually built in PyrmontHarboursideLocated adjacent to the Harbourside Shopping Centre at the western end of the Pyrmont Bridge, demolished in June 2023Sydney’s maligned monorail one step closer to disappearing from city centre Sydney Morning Herald 8 June 2023 ConventionServed the Sydney Convention & Exhibition CentreExhibitionDuring the 1990s and early 2000s, there was also a station at the former Sydney Exhibition Centre complex where the current light rail station (opened 1997) stops.Paddy's MarketsFormerly named Powerhouse Museum, and originally HaymarketChinatownLocated inside the One Dixon Street shopping centre, opened in 2001 as Garden Plaza it closed on 26 July 2004, and then reopened as Chinatown station on 18 December 2006 By 2012 the station was unstaffed and only open between 07:00 and 09:00 on weekdays only, with the station entrance locked outside these hoursWorld SquareTemporary station in operation until 2005, when the station was rebuilt and incorporated into the new adjacent buildingThe Galeries VictoriaOriginally named Park Plaza. The temporary entrance provided until 2000, when the station was incorporated into the new adjacent building. Now a Fitness First gym, which reuses some of the monorail station's original functions and features.
Maintenance and control facilities
The six monorail units were maintained in a purpose-built facility in Pyrmont. A traverser allowed monorail cars to be removed from the main track for maintenance or stabling. Maintenance of track and stations was conducted at night with two special vehicles, named "Buggy" and "Mule".
The facility also housed the control room (located above the maintenance area), as well as administration and staff amenities.
Criticism The decision to build the monorail over other forms of public transport such as light rail was seen as a political decision. The government enacted legislation to exempt the project from certain sections of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and an environmental impact study was refused.
The activist group Sydney Citizens Against the Proposed Monorail (SCAPM) was formed in 1985, which organised rallies against the monorail project during and before its construction. Former Sydney City Council alderman Jack Mundey was an active leader of SCAPM who scrutinised the government's handling of the project. The monorail was also condemned by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, the Royal Australian Planning Institute, and Liberal opposition leader Nick Greiner, who would inherit the project in the following 1988 state election.
Incidents On 28 July 1988, an electrical fault caused the system to cease operating. Fifty passengers were stranded in carriages for two hours between 3:50 and 5:50 pm. TNT Harbourlink was criticised for failing to call emergency services until 5:40; by the time the fire brigade arrived at the scene, the passengers were en route to disembarking at a station.Mark Coultan and Bernard Lagan "Double blow for the monorail" Sydney Morning Herald 30 July 1988 page 1
On 7 July 1992, monorail services were suspended due to a fire in a wool store building which caused a wall to collapse 'within metres' of TNT Harbourlink's central control room offices.Shelli-Anne Couch "Monorail to be in service soon" Sydney Morning Herald 8 July 1992 page 11
On 27 February 2010, at approximately 16:00, two monorail trains collided at the Darling Park station resulting in hospitalisation of four people.