The Seattle Center Monorail is a monorail line in Seattle with elevators. The monorail in Seattle runs almost one mile along Fifth Avenue (Westlake Center in Downtown) to Seattle Center (Lower Queen Anne). This monorail is considered to be one of the most efficient public transit systems in the United States. The fastest monorail in Seattle runs at approximately 50 mph or 80 km/h. The monorail trains and tracks were accepted as historical landmark by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board few years back. The monorail was designed by the Alweg Rapid Transit Systems and the entire project priced around $3.5 million for its construction. The monorail first operated on March 24, 1962. Only within 6 months, this transportation mode became hugely popular among the natives and visitors of Seattle.
Journey on the Seattle Center Monorail
Seattle's monorail represented mass transit ever since its foundation. The monorail provides a vital link between Seattle Center and Downtown Seattle. Journey in a monorail is very cheap and profitable. The main route of monorail begins at Westlake in Downtown Seattle. The starting station of Westlake is located on 5th Avenue between Pine Street and Olive Way. The first station is the Belltown neighborhood. From Belltown, the train turns to north heading for Denny Way.Then it crosses 5th Avenue North covering two blocks, passing across the famous Space Needle, beside Seattle Center and then reaches the final station. However there are numerous Seattle.Center Monorail stations along every route that suffices the requirement of every passenger.
|
There are mainly two routes of Seattle Center Monorail. One is from Westlake to Seattle Center and the other is from Thomas Street to Seattle Center.
The latter route was mainly planned to cover the Experience Music Project (a musical museum) near the Seattle Center.
The monorail runs along for around 0.9 miles and one way trip usually do not take more than two minutes. The monorail is built on 62 concrete piers that act as support to the running trains on the elevated lines. The trains feature bulged-out head and big glass windows, which offer commendable views of the city as the trains smoothly glide along the track. These manually operated monorails have their drivers seated on the left side of the train's head.
The Seattle Center Monorail operates regularly from 9am to 11pm. The monorails are available at every10 minutes interval from Seattle Center station to Westlake Center Mall. Each train has a seating capacity of 450 passengers. The Monorail provides extra service during special events and festivals. During these special events, the trains are available every 5 minutes.
The round trip Seattle Center Monorail fares are around $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for senior passengers above 65 years, $1.50 for youngsters and children below 4 years enjoy free ride. Special discounts are offered to the disabled and Medicare card holders. Much money can be saved by purchasing special Monorail passes. The monorail usually remains closed on Christmas.
|
