The is a
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...
system in the city of
Kitakyushu
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one o ...
in
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, K ...
, Japan, operated by .
The is the only line. It runs the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) between
Kokura station
in Kokurakita-ku is the main railway station in Kitakyushu, Japan. It is part of the JR Kyushu network and the San'yō Shinkansen stops here. It is the second largest station in Kyushu with 120,000 users daily. In the late 1990s, the Kokura st ...
and Kikugaoka station in
Kokura Minami ward
is an ancient castle town and the center of Kitakyushu, Japan, guarding the Straits of Shimonoseki between Honshu and Kyushu with its suburb Moji. Kokura is also the name of the penultimate station on the southbound San'yō Shinkansen line ...
in about 18 minutes. It was opened on January 9, 1985, between the station now called Heiwadori and Kikugaoka, and at the time was the first monorail in the world with high level platforms and trains with floors entirely above the bogies. This increased available floor space and now all but one of Japan's surviving
Alweg
Alweg was a transportation company based in Germany known for pioneering straddle-beam monorails.
History
Alweg was founded by Swedish industrial magnate Dr. Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren in January 1953 as Alweg-Forschung, GmbH (Alweg Research Co ...
monorails have high level platforms and employ podium-free trains.
This line was extended about 300 metres (1000 ft) to Kokura station from Heiwadori on April 1, 1998.
The monorail is owned by the city of Kitakyushu, and did not begin to make a profit until the extension to Kokura station was completed. This had been resisted by the businesses in Uomachi shopping district who feared they would lose customers, but that did not happen.
Once a year, there are beer parties and wine parties held on the monorail, bookings made in advance.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
boards the train on December 24.
Stations
See also
*
Monorails in Japan {{short description, Wikimedia list article
Here is a list of monorails in Japan.
Currently operational
*Tokyo Monorail: Tokyo, 1964. One of the world's most commercially successful monorail lines, carrying around 100 million passengers yearly.
*Ta ...
*
Kitakyushu Airport
, sometimes called Kokuraminami Airport, is an airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan. It is built on an artificial island in the western Seto Inland Sea, away from the main body of the city. It opened on 16 March 2006, as bu ...
*
List of rapid transit systems
These lists of rapid transit systems are sorted by the type of system:
* List of tram and light rail transit systems
* List of town tramway systems
* Medium-capacity rail transport system
* List of premetro systems
* List of metro systems
* List ...
References
External links
Kitakyushu monorail(Official page in Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitakyushu Monorail
Monorails
Alweg people movers
Railway lines opened in 1985
Monorails in Japan
Japanese third-sector railway lines
Transport in Fukuoka Prefecture
Kitakyushu