Seattle Center Monorail
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Seattle_Center_Monorail.jpg
The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated monorail line in Seattle, Washington, that runs one mile along Fifth Avenue from Westlake Center in Downtown to Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne. It claims to be the "only fully self-sufficient public transit system" in the United States and, with a top speed of 50 mph, to also be the fastest full-sized monorail in the country.
The monorail, which cost $3.5 million to build, opened on March 24, 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition, a World's Fair being held at the current site of Seattle Center. Eight million people rode the monorail during the half year the fair was open; today, annual ridership is around 2.5 million.
At the northern end of the line, the Experience Music Project building was designed so that the monorail could pass through it on its way to the terminal.
In November 2002 Seattle voters approved the construction of a 14-mile line to replace the current one. The "Green Line," as it is known, is to be the first of five monorail lines running throughout the city. Partial service is scheduled to be available in 2007, and full service is scheduled for 2009. The current monorail will be demolished as part of the project.
On May 31, 2004, a fire broke out on the monorail with 150 people aboard. No one was killed; five passengers were taken to the hospital, none of them burned. The line was closed until December 16, 2004, when service resumed with one of the two trains (the "red train," newly fireproofed) in operation.
External links
- Seattle Center Monorail (current) (http://www.seattlemonorail.com/)
- Seattle Monorail Project (replacement) (http://www.elevated.org/)