Several GGW editors and contributors are in Seattle this week for the Railvolution conference. While there, they’ll offer a series of short posts about their experiences.

Seattle’s monorail opened in 1962 for the world’s fair, and for decades was the only rail transit in town. Unfortunately it’s more of a novelty than a bona fide transit system. The monorail has only 2 stations, one downtown and a second at the Space Needle, at what was once the fairgrounds.

The monorail in downtown Seattle. Photo by BeyondDC.

Why not build more? There were some proposals to do so, but one problem is that monorails aren’t as flexible as light rail. While they’re great for elevated lines, they’re harder and more expensive to build at-grade or in a subway, options Seattle needed for what became its Central light rail line.

But it is undeniably neat.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

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Tagged: events, seattle, transit

Dan Malouff is a transportation planner for Arlington and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He has a degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado and lives in Trinidad, DC. He runs BeyondDC and contributes to the Washington Post. Dan blogs to express personal views, and does not take part in GGWash's political endorsement decisions.