The Eunha Galaxy Rail is not the only upcoming monorail in South Korea. Daegu’s third rail transport line will be a bi-directional monorail which stretches across the city and passes through both lines 1 and 2. Construction began in July 2009 is expected to be finished in October 2014. The line starts off at Northern Daegu in Dongho-dong(동호동) and continues down through the centre of the city and finishes in the southern suburb of Beommul-dong(범물동). A monorail was chosen over light-rail due to the cheaper cost and shorter construction time. A promotional video for the monorail line can be viewed below.
The line will be 23.95km long and travel time from one end to the other is to be an estimated 46 minutes. Each set(train) will run every 3.5-4 minutes and be able to hold 265 people (398 at maximum) in its three carriages. The first vehicle on the line will be a Hitachi model produced in Japan and the remaining vehicles are to be produced by Woojin Industrial Systems in Korea which also manufactured the vehicles for the new light rail line in Busan. Though the driverless vehicles are able to reach a top speed of 70km/h, they will travel at a much slower average speed of 30km/h. In the event of an emergency, the vehicles are equipped with special emergency “spiral chutes” which drop down so passengers can quickly evacuate to the ground below.
The highlight of the Daegu Monorail is the “mist glass” (also known as smart glass) which automatically activates when passing close to apartments or other residential buildings to help prevent invasion of privacy. Similar technology is currently used throughout the world in venues such as meeting rooms and hotel bathrooms. The image below shows an example of the special glass.
The 30 stations which are part of the system are placed approximately 800m apart on average. It would still be too early to try and name all the stations, as the Korean and English names for most have not been confirmed yet. Two stations that can be named are Seomun Market and Myeongdeok, which intersect with lines 1 and 2 respectively. Instead, here is a large and detailed map of the line. Click on the image to view it full size. Also, check out this blog to view the designs for all of the stations on the line.
The monorail line is bound to suit the flatness of the city well and could even become Daegu’s new icon for the city. Construction of the line is expected to cost 1 trillion, 428.2 billion won in total and Daegu City has not yet announced who will operate and service the system. As of December 2011 the project was 42% complete according to the city’s latest report.
Further Info:
Daegu’s Line 3 is being built by a consortium of construction companies including, Posco E&C, GS Construction, Daewoo E&C, Hyundai E&C, SK E&C and Daelim.
Sources: FRDB | Woojin Industrial Systems | Daegu City | iMaeil.com
Other Links: Daegu Urban Railroad Construction Gallery | Daegu Monorail Cafe | Post by Expat in Daegu
