The Memphis Suspension Railway or Mud Island Monorail is a suspended

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 ...

that connects the city center of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

with the entertainment park on

Mud Island Mud Island is a small peninsula located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River and Harbor Town to the east. Mud Island River Park is located within the Memphis city limits, 1.2 miles fr ...

. Celebrating its grand opening on July 3, 1982, it is located beneath a footbridge over the Wolf River Lagoon connecting to the southern tip of

. The line has two suspended cars constructed in Switzerland, delivered in summer 1981. The bridge opened to pedestrians on June 29, 1981; the monorail was not operational until July 1982. The cars are driven by a external cable, instead of by internal motors. The two cars simultaneously shuttle back and forth on parallel tracks between the Front Street Terminal on the downtown side and the Mud Island Terminal. Each car has a maximum capacity of 180 passengers and travels at . At the time of its construction, the U.S. Coast Guard stated that the proposed bridge would have to have the same clearance as the

Hernando de Soto Bridge The Hernando de Soto Bridge is a tied-arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The design is a continuous cantilevered cable-stayed steel through arch, with beds ...

, as it was spanning a commercially used public waterway. This resulted in the bridge being constructed at its current elevation. The monorail was indefinitely closed on July 6, 2018. It opens occasionally for special events.

Incidents and accidents

On June 19, 1994, a 19-year-old female

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

student, Shellie M. McKnight, fell while cleaning the exterior windows of one of the cars and died. The fatal fall was ruled accidental by Memphis Police. Her family lost the lawsuit they filed against the City of Memphis. On September 29, 2018, six passengers were trapped in one of the cars when it stalled mid-transit. The stall was caused by a fuse that was tripped. About 20 minutes after the vehicle initially stalled, the driver evacuated the vehicle onto the pedestrian bridge above. Nobody involved was injured.

In popular culture

In the 1993 film '' The Firm'', Mitch McDeere, played by

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

, uses the railway to escape from "The Firm" that is out to kill him.

References

External links

Mud Island Monorail official website
{{coord, 35.150319, -90.055854, display=title Monorails Suspended monorails Railway lines opened in 1982 People mover systems in the United States Cable railways in the United States Truss bridges in the United States Pedestrian bridges in the United States Monorails in the United States Railroad bridges in Tennessee 1982 establishments in Tennessee Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee Transportation in Memphis, Tennessee Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee Articles containing video clips