 | ||
The Skyrail Midorizaka Line (スカイレールみどり坂線, Sukairēru Midorizaka-sen) is a monorail line, or a people mover line, operated by Skyrail Service. The line runs between Midoriguchi and Midori-Chūō, all within the new town called Skyrail Town Midorizaka, Aki, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. The line is officially called Hiroshima Short Distance Transit Seno Line (広島短距離交通瀬野線, Hiroshima Tankyori Kōtsū Seno-sen). The line is also known as the first Japanese public transport to introduce a smart card, simply called IC Commuter Pass (IC定期券, Aishī Teikiken), from the time the line itself opened on August 28, 1998.
Contents
Basic data
Skyrail
A skyrail is a new rail transport system developed by Kobe Steel (Kobelco), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and others. It is a fusion between a suspended monorail, an aerial lift, and a people mover. Driverless gondola-sized cars, suspended from a single steel track, are moved by an attached cable. Inside each station, cars release the cable and move by linear motors. Cars can climb steep slopes like aerial lifts (270 ‰ or 15° at max), while the track can still curve like normal monorails.
Services
There is roughly one service per ten minutes. It takes five minutes from Midoriguchi to Midori-Chūō. The fare is ¥150.