CHINA’S first commercial monorail opened to traffic at the 9th China Flower Expo in Yinchuan City, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Friday, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Saturday.

The monorail transit system, called SkyRail, was designed by China’s leading new-energy carmaker BYD, which is based in Shenzhen. It is China’s first straddle-type monorail with full independent intellectual property rights.

On Friday, the monorail was officially opened to the public at the flower expo and began its commercial operation. The debut attracted thousands of tourists and the trains were fully loaded on the first day. By 7:30 p.m., more than 40,000 citizens had taken the SkyRail.

Compared with other rail transit systems, the SkyRail has the advantages of low cost, short construction period, low noise, good views, and is more intelligent and safe.

It has been reported that the cost of a monorail system is only one-fifth of a Metro, and its construction period is only one-third. It has strong climbing capability and a small turning radius, and is good at adapting to the terrain. In addition, it can go through buildings while creating minimal noise. With an independent right of way, the monorail offers good views and can adapt to the local ecological environment. The system can run at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour.

SkyRail is BYD’s strategic solution to congestion problems in cities all over the world. As a rail transportation product for small and medium-sized volume, SkyRail can be combined with the existing public transportation system to build a three-dimensional traffic network utilizing underground, ground and above-ground spaces. It can be widely employed as transport connection lines in first and second-tier cities, main traffic lines in third and fourth-tier cities, and sightseeing lines in scenic spots.

It has been reported that before BYD launched the SkyRail, only two large foreign enterprises had mastered the core technology for a straddle-type monorail. The successful launch of the SkyRail by the company has filled the technical gaps in this field for China. Moreover, it took only 86 days to complete the construction.

At present, Shenzhen has planned the construction of two SkyRail lines. One is in Dapeng New Area, stretching 17.95 km from Dapeng tourist transport center to Yangmeikeng, while the other is in Pingshan District, with the first-phase project going from Pingshan High-speed Railway Station to BYD Road.

(Zhang Yu)