Elevated Metro
Introduction
An elevated train is a rapid transit railroad whose rails are above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed of steel, wrought iron, concrete, or brick). The railway line may be broad gauge, standard gauge or narrow gauge, light, monorail or suspension).
History
The first elevated train was the London and Greenwich Railway") on an 878-arch brick viaduct, built between 1836 and 1838.[1][2][3][4] The first 4 kilometers of the London and Blackwall Railway") (1840) were also built on a viaduct. During the 1840s, there were other plans for elevated trains in London that were never built.[5][6][7].
From the late 1860s onward, elevated trains became popular in American cities. New York's West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway&action=edit&redlink=1 "Ninth Avenue Line (IRT) (not yet drafted)") was operated with cable cars from 1868 to 1870, then locomotives were used. The Manhattan Railway Company followed in 1875, the South Side Elevated Railroad"), Chicago (1892–), and the elevated lines of the Boston Elevated Railway") (1901–). Chicago's transit system known as the "L", short for "elevated". The Berlin Stadtbahn (1882) and the Vienna Stadtbahn (1898) were also mainly elevated.
The first elevated electric train was the Liverpool Overhead Railway"), which operated between Liverpool docks between 1893 and 1956.[8][9][10].
In London, the Docklands Light Railway has since expanded.[11] The trains are automatic and driverless.[12].
Another modern elevated train is Tokyo's Yurikamome Line, opened in 1995.[13].
Systems
Monorail systems
Many monorails are elevated trains such as the Disneyland Monorail System" (1959), Tokyo Monorail" (1964), Sydney Metro Monorail (1988–2013), Kuala Lumpur KL Monorail, Las Vegas Monorail, Seattle Monorail, and São Paulo Metro Line 15. Many maglev trains are also elevated.
Suspension routes
During the 1890s, there was interest in suspension trains, particularly in Germany with the Dresden Schwebebahn (1891–) and the Wuppertal Schwebebahn (1901). The H-Bahn was built in Dortmund and at Düsseldorf Airport in 1975. The Memphis Suspension Railway opened in 1982.