By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
Though it is already known as a city on the cutting edge of science, the groundbreaking of Seattle’s fully automated and elevated monorail system will become a jewel in its high-tech crown, according to Joel Horn, executive director of the Seattle Monorail Project.
Horn spoke to crowd of 75 so-called techies as well as the not-so-technically inclined at the latest meeting of Blue Knot: The Jewish Tech Initiative that took place at Hillel on the University of Washington campus. According to Horn, six out of the 75 staffers at the SMP are Jewish.
The Green Line, which will be the first section of the monorail network, should start construction this year and is projected to be up and running in 2009. The monorail will eventually serve mass transit riders throughout the city.
“My personal goal is making the monorail more attractive than riding in a car,” proclaimed Horn.
Horn said he has been inundated with work, making hundreds of presentations last year since the voters approved the 14-mile long section by passing Proposition 1 in November 2002.
“This is the largest contract in the history of the city,” said Horn. “We anticipate about 20 million riders a year.”
Horn said he wanted to be careful not to give away too many sensitive details about the technology that has not yet been made final.
The Green Line will connect Ballard, the Key Arena and Seattle Center, the Pike Place Market, the ferry terminal, Pioneer Square, the stadiums and West Seattle, with many points in between. The SMP is funded by a motor vehicle tax on city residents.
In addition to the Green Line, Seattle voters also approved the planning stages of a second line that is the next phase of the Seattle Monorail Project.
The group is tentatively considering the construction of five lines once the project is fully realized.
“The use of a monorail as a rapid transit alternative has been done for decades in Japan, Europe and in other parts of the world,” said Anne Levinson, deputy director of the SMP. “It’s such an environmentally friendly transportation alternative.”
Possibly the most obvious change for transit riders will be the absence of a driver on all the trains. Patrons will be using a transit system that is fully computerized and overseen by operators located at a central location.
According to Horn, Vancouver, B.C.‘s Skytrain high speed monorail system is an automated and elevated system, but the monorail will be a new experience in the U.S.
“Skytrain has two huge flat screens and two people who operate the system,” said Horn. “They sit back in chairs and watch a big panel. Every train is automated.”
The monorail will run at as little as 20 miles per hour and 50 miles per hour at its fastest.
“It’s a very advanced piece of software,” said Horn. “It’s constantly monitoring where the trains are and feeding that information back to the computer. There are safety buffers embedded into the track.”
Horn believes that not only does this technology increase public safety, but there are also substantial cost advantages to automated transit.
“It’s elevated so you won’t have to worry about accidents because you’re in your own corridor,” said Horn. “Insurance rates are the lowest of any transportation type that are insured.”
The train’s computer provides constant reporting on the status of each car and technicians will be able to see the motor on their screens. If there is a fire in a train or even the potential of a fire due to overheating, operators can see the alert on their panel and the train is brought back to the yard.
Operators will also be able to see the brakes and detect how much brake wear the trains have sustained.
“The trains are always being adjusted ever so slightly to bring them all back on line,” added Horn. “If it’s more than a minute off, the system goes red and everything stops. It’s a crisis mentality and they take over manual operation. If necessary, they will insert a train on the spot and sideline the other on another track. There is real-time system monitoring.”
In addition to state-of-the-art operating technology, the SMP will also provide Seattle businesses with new ways of generating revenue. Real-time electronic postings on moving trains could revolutionize the way advertisers get their message to their desired audience, Horn said. Also, as riders travel through Puget Sound neighborhoods, they may choose to de-board and catch a discounted movie showing or enjoy a two-for-one special from a favorite pizza place.
The idea, says Stephen Brown, lead entrepreneur for the SMP, is to make riding the monorail as convenient as riding in your car. He is betting the monorail will prevail.
“The entrepreneurship group develops direct revenue streams, tourist ideas and retail ideas,” said Brown, from his SMP office in downtown Seattle. “We will have SMP retail brand items, station retail and convenience retail.”
Brown says the SMP does not want to compete with retailers on the street or around the stations. They only want to make riding the electric trains easy and fun.
“All the trains and the platforms in the stations will be ‘hot’ in terms of wireless services,” said Brown, “so when you enter the station you will have access at all times. We also want to have playful interactives for kids. So, a kid who is waiting at the platform might be given a puzzle to solve, maybe every 30 seconds.”
The big idea is premium offerings to tourists, said Brown.
“Riders will be able to buy a guaranteed seat on a site-specific train that stops at views around Seattle,” said Brown. “Multi-media information on the train might show a video of Ken Griffey, Jr. sliding into home plate in 1995 or the Kingdome being blown up while a live host interprets the view.”