Back in 2016, I visited the Wuppertal suspended monorail in Germany, and I said that monorails are almost always a bad idea.

Monorail enthusiasts sent me angry messages, but I stand by that.

In 2020, I visited one of the last surviving Roadmachines cargo monorails.

They were actually useful and practical, but they were temporary constructions designed for having cargo hauled around work sites.

And they've been replaced by modern heavy construction equipment.

Monorails are usually bad ideas, because the track has to be either elevated or in a trench, and because switches at junctions involve moving the whole track.

In almost every case, a monorail is a worse and more expensive idea than light rail, or a tram, or a bus.

But.

While I was researching a while ago, I found a type of monorail that is useful and practical and better than any alternative for its job.

And not only is it still in use, new versions of it are being built.

So I reached out to the company that makes them and I asked them, "Can I have a go on one, please?"

This is the monorack.

We build mainly ropeways. That's our main business.

Everything with the rope. Aerial tramways, chair lifts, ski lifts.

And monorack is a Garaventa product since nearly 45 years, in 1978 I think, or '79.

Some two years after the petrol monorack, they start with electrical monorack.

They installed mainly in the Alp area.

Germany, Switzerland, a lot of monoracks in Italy, but also Canada, Sweden, Asia.

All over the world we have more or less about 800 monoracks.

The petrol monoracks are mainly installed in the agriculture area.

The electrical monorack usually is quiet, but here the customer made his own box.

That's the reason why it's still a little bit loud!

The invention that makes this thing so useful is down on the track.

This is a rack railway, so the track has grooves and the cogs onboard the train lock into it.

That means it can climb very steep hills like this and take tight corners with no risk of slipping.

Having just one lightweight rail means it doesn't take up much room.

It can go around tight corners and it's easy to install.

Being elevated, means it can go over rough terrain and if there's rain or mud below, it doesn't matter.

I genuinely can't think of a better solution for regularly, safely, moving things up and down steep, rough terrain like this.

Every monorack is based on a brake, and on an engine chassis.

And what's between the two chassises is up to the customer, we can choose different models, different chairs, whatever the customer needs or wants.

You can see the charging rails.

If the customer wants two or three, he can choose two or three charging points.

Normally we have only one, in one of the end stations.

I know this sounds like an advert, I promise it isn't.

I just got actually properly enthusiastic at being proved wrong.

There are useful monorails in the world. And this?

This is one of them.