Sentosa Monorail
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Transit type | Straddle-beam monorail |
| Number of lines | 1 |
| Number of stations | 7 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | February 23, 1982 |
| Ended operation | March 16, 2005 |
| Operator(s) | Sentosa Development Corporation |
| Technical | |
| System length | 3.6 mi (5.8 km) |
The Sentosa Monorail (Chinese: 圣淘沙单轨列车) was a monorail system which served as the main means of transportation on the island of Sentosa in Singapore, and has been replaced by the new monorail system, the Sentosa Express. The system was constructed at a cost of S$14 million by Von Roll of Switzerland, who also built the Singapore Cable Car.
Commencing operations on 23 February 1982, the line had initially only five stations. In 1987, the Ferry Terminal Monorail Station began operations when the Sentosa Ferry Terminal opened that year. In 1991, the Underwater World Monorail Station commenced operations when Underwater World opened that year. It operated several 16-car, non-air conditioned trains in a unidirectional counter-clockwise single loop through seven stations located around the western half of the island. The monorail rides were initially charged at S$3 for adults and S$1.50 for children. The trip was later made free for passengers, who could ride the system as often as they wished throughout their stay on the island. Four of the stations have two platforms; for such stations, the Spanish solution was employed, where passengers alight at one platform and board at the opposite platform.
There were no terminal stations for Sentosa Monorail.
Due to the rapid modernization of Sentosa island, maintenance problems, increasing costs, and declining popularity as visitors started complaining that the ride was slow and uncomfortable, the Sentosa Monorail ceased operations on 16 March 2005 to make way for the new four-station Sentosa Express monorail. Much of the track and all of the rolling stock were sold as scrap for S$350,000. A subsequent assessment showed that some of the but welds did not match the specification of British Standards. Five of the monorail stations have been repurposed for other uses, such as the "Surrender Chamber" at Fort Siloso, a restaurant being developed at the Central Beach, and the SDC Office was rebuilt and converted into a bar. Gateway was demolished when the line closed and Ferry Terminal was demolished in March 2007.
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