Sydney Monorail

Sydney Monorail
Overview
Type	straddle-beam Monorail loop
Status	Demolished
Locale	Sydney
Stations	8
Operation
Opened	21 July 1988
Closed	30 June 2013
Owner	Metro Transport Sydney
Operator(s)	Veolia Transport Sydney
Technical
Line length	3.6 km (2.2 mi)

The Sydney Monorail (originally TNT Harbourlink and later Metro Monorail) was a single-loop monorail in Sydney, Australia, that connected Darling Harbour, Chinatown and the Sydney central business and shopping districts. It opened in July 1988 and closed in June 2013.

There were eight stations on the 3.6 kilometre loop, with up to six trains operating simultaneously. It served major attractions and facilities such as the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. The system was operated by Veolia.

As part of the redevelopment of 50 hectares (120 acres) of land at Darling Harbour it was proposed to build a transport link to the Sydney central business district. Sydney City Council preferred a light rail line, however in November 1985 Transport Minister Laurie Brereton announced a monorail would be built. Initially operated by TNT Harbourlink, the monorail opened on 21 July 1988 after a construction period of 26 months. The first test services ran in October 1987 on a 500-metre section at Darling Harbour. TNT Harbourlink was awarded a 50-year concession until 2038.

The original operation hours were to be 06:00 to midnight, but after two years of operation patronage counts were half those expected, and planned stations at Market Street (to be named Casino, as part of the gaming venue planned to be built on the site) and Harbour Street (to be named Gardenside) were not built for some time.

In August 1998 TNT sold the monorail to CGEA Transport Sydney, which was owned by CGEA Transport (later renamed Connex, then Veolia) (51%), Australian Infrastructure Fund (19%), Utilities Trust of Australia (19%) and Legal & General (11%).

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