Dear Colleague(s),
The positive reactions generated by people that went over Mr. Pedersen’s book Trains of the Future-Now Arriving are worth noting. The book is educational and has energized many of its readers to dream of better ways of transportation to serve their communities. Going through the pages of the book, we see multiple examples of how monorails offer an efficient, fast to construct, small footprint, and safe solution for a world where surface transportation is choking our cities with gridlock.
It is surprising that our industry has not made more inroads in transportation systems, due to the misunderstanding of decision and policy makers and their advisors as to the true cost of implementing monorails, or by not taking into account the longevity of the train fleets when compared to other surface transportation systems, or by discounting the smooth, quiet operation of its non-polluting electric motors. What should concern us as engineers, citizens, and taxpayers is the reality that funds are currently being devoted to the development of systems, costing as much or more than monorail systems, with a fraction of the performance or the benefits of monorails, as if facts don’t matter. Just as Mr. Pedersen’s book is educating the public, so should we. Now we have a very graphical tool at our disposal to show and inspire.
On a bright note, there are many signs that the perception of monorails is starting to change. Projects in China, Egypt, Panama, among many places, point to new horizons for our technology. Conceived in a myriad of contracting arrangements, private, public, or mixed entities, they serve the public and the communities. This is the time to share what we know with the wider world.
There is no better time than today to get involved and there is no better place than Monorailex 2016 in Cologne, Germany. The program being prepared includes presentations from operators, vehicle, system and civil designers and contractors, and code related workshops to develop comments on the ASCE 21 documents and performance specifications that can be used on new projects.
Looking forward to see you there, experiencing the camaraderie and knowledge among our members.
Like Mr. Pedersen says: Onwards and Upwards.
On behalf of the Executive Council,
Carlos Banchik, P.E.
President
International Monorail Association
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