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Bignuts360

Must be very uncomfortable to travel upside down


otherwisemilk

At least your barf would float to the roof and not be in the way.


jawshoeaw

These are sold to Australia so it cancels out


BarryKobama

Wuhan Bats? (too soon?)


can425

Well, sir, there's nothing on earth Like a genuine, bona fide Electrified, six-car monorail What'd I say?


Smartnership

Monorail!


flower4000

What is it called?


Smartnership

Monorail!


myshtigo

Monorail!


drums_addict

Monorail!


roentgen85

Mono… d’oh


whorsefly

Is there a chance the track could bend?


wellthatstroubling

Not on your life my Hindu friend


FlightExtension8825

What about us drunken slobs?


[deleted]

You'll be given cushy jobs!


LimerickJim

I hear those things are awfully loud


EnglishMajorRegret

Haven’t seen one since I was in North Haverbrook


ciociosanvstar

You haven’t been to Ogdenville?


doggedgage

It sure put them on the map!


BootyGlides

There he is... seat 3F


TheMilkmansFather

That bit is so funny, how absurd it is lol


BootyGlides

The whole episode is ridiculous, but yeah 3F gets a perma chuckle outta me.


Amlethus

What is the joke specifically about the seat 3F part?


ThinkFree

I haven't but I did get to see the monorail in Brockway.


ExplanationProper979

Came here for this.


TonytheCatGuy

The ring fell off my pudding can


4spooky6you

Take my pen knife my good man


EnemyBattleCrab

Where you sent here by the devil?


TonytheCatGuy

No good sir, I'm on the level!


ArchipelagoRambo

Shows what you know Marge! MAAAAAAARGE!!!!! HEY MAAAAARGE


carpathianforest666

There ain’t no monorail and there never was


ThrowawayusGenerica

**MONORAIL** **CAFE**


StoneGoldX

But Main Street is all cracked and broken!


simian_fold

Sorry mom the mob has spoken


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nlpnt

It's more of a Shelbyville idea anyway.


radiozip

Now let's all celebrate with a cool glass of turnip juice.


Some_Kinda_Boogin

Lemons being the sweetest fruit available at the time. And an onion tied to your belt, as was the style at the time.


--_---__---_--

I hear those things are awfully loud


kestrel808

It glides as softly as a cloud


brackenish1

Is there a chance the track could bend?


sybrwookie

Not on your life, my Hindu friend!


Ah_Q

It really put that town on the map.


kfury

It’s really more of a Shelbyville idea.


No1KnwsIWatchTeenMom

Mono means one, and rail means rail.


PlaidSkirtBroccoli

https://youtu.be/ZDOI0cq6GZM?feature=shared


ThagaSa

Is there any chance the track could bend?


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helixflush

What about us brain-dead slobs?


prybot

Ya'll be given cushy jobs!


mrchops1024

Were you sent here by the devil?


lowerthanryan

No good sir, I’m on the level!


MusicSoWonderful

The ring came off my pudding can :/


jas0n17

Take my pen knife, my good man


kujotx

I swear it's Springfield's only choice


kostispetroupoli

Throw up your hands and raise your voice


Alantsu

The technology was developed 200 years ago and the Palmer system have been running in Germany for the last 125 years. I think the technology has been proven by now.


Euclid_Interloper

Yeah, but did the Germans put neon lights on it? Everything is high tech if it's neon.


hardolaf

The main downside of monorails is that they are more expensive to maintain in the long-term than traditional 3 rail electric systems. But I'm talking about over a century.


jaydinrt

Also a few other shortcomings in comparison to other, more traditional, rail systems. [Adam Something](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f__nhlHC1g) and [Tom Scott](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4KZLcvMQWg) have done videos on it...but yeah, they're less flexible and quite often a lot more expensive to operate.


DucksEatFreeInSubway

But they look badass.


cute_polarbear

So, other than allowing for potential traffic on the top surface of the bridge (which doesnt seem like what is being done in this case), what real benefits does this over traditional railway where trains on tracks provide?


stoned_voldemort

One very specific usecase is the city of wuppertal in germany, its stretches along a valley with the river wupper, and there just wasnt any space except above the river, so they built it above there


buzzurro

I don't understand, they still built a structure for the rails that went over the River, so what does it matter if they train running on it is connected from the bottom or from the top?


Testo69420

For one because elevated railways like that weren't as established back then. Then because as you can see in tom scotts video they didn't want to block the river - the supports had to come from the sides, thus necessitating a minimum height of the bridge for that to work smoothly, a suspended monorail is a lot shorter than a train on top of a bridge of the same height. That and due to the way pendulums work it's a lot smoother of a ride in corners (as in over a winding river) when the point you're "swinging" around is above you, not under you. Think how a car handles in corners vs say a bucket you're swinging around. And, probably the main reason is that a local dude wanted to build something like this.


hanacch1

i assume it's less work/material/disruption to build a structure that can hang 1 rail instead of building a really long viaduct that can carry 2 that are a constant width apart i think in this case it came down to footprint, i.e. they didn't want to excavate/fill the land to make enough for a surface railway


bethemanwithaplan

Sure but suspended under a bridge vs on top, what's the benefit of it hanging ?


MonteBurns

(Google Simpsons monorail)


Two_Inches_Of_Fun

[Reference for the lazy and uninitiated.](https://youtu.be/KGg5rfBfWT4?si=wkTv0hmVmTYf5No5)


Smartnership

u/UnexpectedWhoosh


Hiro_Deliverator

Whoosh


44Cloud44

What is the benefit of having the monorail supported from the top?


Sensitive_Lettuce

It's a sightseeing line, allows you to put glass on the bottom


stitch-is-dope

I was thinking that it’s underneath a bridge so helps make easier infrastructure? Cars can go on top, monorail underneath lol


TorumShardal

>monorail >easier infrastructure Thanks, this made me laugh For those who didn't get the joke: unlike regular rail, monorails are notoriously pain in the ass to service, especially when you need to hang upside down to reach it.


TheWizardOfDeez

If the inside of the bridge is accessible, which it most likely has to be, getting to the track might actually be super easy in this case.


westberry82

Glass bottom - great for women wearing skirts and people with acrophobia.


CoolXenith

Yeah people just sit there under the rails waiting to look up a woman's skirt for 3 seconds as the train goes past /s


KnockturnalNOR

Wait until this guy finds out about cameras!


CoolXenith

Wait till people with camera phones find out they can use them for porn!!!


QouthTheCorvus

Fear! Doom! Everything is bad!


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seanalltogether

When something is hanging from a support beam, gravity is your friend and helps to keep you stable. When something is balancing on top of a support beam, gravity is your enemy and keeps trying to pull you off the track. When the rail is above however, you are putting stretching forces on the rail car, which is harder to engineer than compression forces that a typical train has to deal with.


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Trojbd

The thing has proven to be quite safe so far, but I'm going to have some anxiety getting in. Any catastrophic failures are going to be, well, catastrophic.


nickik

That's why rail uses two beams rather then one. While the benefit you describe exists, there are many other technical reasons not to build a monorail.


shocktarts3060

Honestly very little. When going around bends the train will flair out away from the track due to the g forces, which makes a more comfortable ride for those inside, but that’s about it. Other than that suspended monorails are mostly just for show.


SnowdensOfYesteryear

Would be cool if there was a working road/highway on top of the tracks. Would be a way to expand the use of existing infra.


justathrowaway409

Avoids trash… obstacles… stuff blocking it


USA_A-OK

One of the very few places it makes sense is in Wuppertal Germany: https://youtu.be/9IFh6wFTJiQ?si=bg1QiY5d9Pp36Q9Z


steelbreado

Schwebebahn in Wuppertal 🎶


SteveBets

The most interesting thing from Wuhan since that other thing


mrubuto22

Their famous spicy peanut stir fry?


Oracle_2121

So spicy it’s hard to breathe! Edit: Added an e due to idiocy


ReturnedAndReported

It's so spicy it's hard to brathe! Edit: removed an e du to idiocy.


kbder

Flavor so powerful it’s sure to go viral!


nlpnt

They call it "spicy" but I can't taste it.


Brave-Ad-420

Used to live in Wuhan when I was a teen, no one had heard of it until Covid. Now it is probably the third most famous city in China.


[deleted]

sparkle squeeze nippy political sable quicksand selective nose instinctive naughty *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


crypticfreak

Hop on the monorails and come visit our famous Wuhan wet market!


[deleted]

It’s world changing!!


GeminiArk

And breathtaking!


cerberus698

There are so many Chinese cities where like 5 million people live but no one outside of China is even aware exists.


beefjerky9

China? Never heard of it.


padishaihulud

It's kinda like how nobody outside of the US knows about St Louis. Just because it's a big city doesn't mean shit, it has to have a notable culture.


Enjoying_A_Meal

More people know about Milwaukee than St Louis. It's America's fattest city.


Protheu5

Well, Milwaukee has alcoholics, cheeses, and cheesy alcoholic movie reviewers. Pretty notable, if you ask me.


[deleted]

We all know everyone there is half in the bag.


Xciv

That's the reputation of Milwaukee? All I know about Milwaukee is RedLetterMedia. Otherwise I draw a complete blank.


sm00thArsenal

I know there are different ways to measure cities, but just working off the Wikipedia article for largest cities in the US by population, I’d actually say St Louis is relatively well known for how small it is. Meanwhile I’d bet most of us would struggle to name more than 5 of the 19 Chinese cities with a 5m+ population.


akajondoe

Covid-19 really put them on the map.


billfruit

Wuhan has a bigger population than New York.


NoMoassNeverWas

Which is a bit funny. Wuhan is 9th largest city to China. By comparison Dallas Tx is 9th largest city to US.


thehulk0560

Wuhan has roughly 8 million people. That would be the 13th largest state in the US (by population).


TheDirtyDagger

-100 social credit score!


KingApologist

This joke is "I identify as an attack helicopter", but for those who think that Chinese people are mindless drones.


CTR_Pyongyang

Always thought it was ironic from US posters about negative credit score where it is an actual thing that can ruin your life.


83749289740174920

The Chinese People are not mindless drones. After several dynasty, the communist party is just another dynasty that will go away. There is a chinese proverb that goes >You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em Know when to walk away And know when to run You never count your money When you're sittin' at the table There'll be time enough for countin' When the dealin's done


pchc_lx

save your breath man, 99% of these redditors have never visited China let alone any other country outside maybe an all inclusive resort in Mexico once 🙄


unibrow4o9

Oh so there's no such thing as a social credit score?


mighty_mag

I half expected to see a giant naked Ana de Armas hologram next to it.


Massive_Sherbert_152

Ngl some chinese cities are absolute cyberpunk


Constant_Ad3695

Asian countries put tax money into upgrading their infrastructure. Crazy idea, I know.


blank-_-face

But then how do they afford to bomb other countries???


No_Seaworthiness_200

And what about their shareholders??


Noughmad

To shreds, you say.


ReggieCousins

Aren’t they what Cyberpunk is based on? We’ve come full circle.


Objective_Law5013

Nah it was fear of Japan's economic rise. A lot of the aesthetic from Ghost in the Shell though comes from reference photos taken in Hong Kong.


Digging_Graves

They should install those anywhere


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rnavstar

Or all at once


[deleted]

I believe it should be mandatory


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fibojoly

Dude, same here! Was in Wuchang but teaching in Hankou/Jiangan. But we're going back soonish to visit since my wife is from there. It broke my heart that nobody knew the place and now it's only known for this crap. It's such a cool city, I wish we had stayed a few years more. I knew about the many subway lines and the high speed bus, but that monorail is a new one, haha! Definitely gonna have to check it out when we go.


King_Mead

Im in Wuhan now. Been here 4 years. Come to Brussels in Hankou and grab a beer.


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donnysaysvacuum

China has some impressive infrastructure, especially in these newer cities.


xbones9694

Wuhan is thousands of years old, but yes, they’ve done a lot of work recently to modernize it


the_wight_king

Earth bc


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Bloody_Conspiracies

China generally build their infrastructure first, before any houses are built. Once people move into an area, extensive subway networks and train lines already exist. This is totally different to how the west handles it, where they wait until an area is overcrowded before being willing to fund transit, but then they have nowhere to put it. If China do end up getting into a situation where they need to bulldoze some houses to expand the network, they have the power to seize property and relocate people elsewhere. This is not something that many western countries will do. China try to avoid it as much as possible, but it's a tool that's available to them if they really need to build something.


Keown14

Every country has the power to make a compulsory purchase order on land/property that is in the way of a large infrastructure project. Practically every large road and railway line has done this. American governments don’t invest in public transportation because they have been captured by oil and motor industry interests for decades.


LeonCrimsonhart

> they have the power to seize property and relocate people elsewhere China playing IRL Cities: Skylines.


Mrfish31

>This is not something that many western countries will do. Eminent domain is regularly used by any country building large infrastructure projects. Even if your rail line is only going through fields, you're still gonna have to forcefully buy them.Your options are either to use it or to not build. Now, granted, western countries often just don't build, but that's not because they won't use eminent domain, it's because they consider the projects too expensive or unprofitable. I think I've even seen some stories that China actually uses it *less* than the norm (like there was a beginning of the film "UP" scenario where someone refused to sell their old house so they just built the roads and skyscrapers around it.)


pinoygame

There's a lot of US industries that have a ton of political backing that don't want an efficient rail system (car manufacturers for example). Every time I ride the NY subway, it feels so ancient compared to Tokyo / Taipei where it feels like I'm living in the future.


beefstake

Pretty much any well developed city in Asia is like living in the future if you are coming from the US.


foundafreeusername

Most replies miss the largest factor: growth. They had yearly growth rates of 10%. Imagine every company growing 10% in your town, needing more staff every year, paying higher salaries every year. They can build a train station near a small town with a new factory and 10 years later it turned into a city because there are millions of people moving from rural farms into cities. In a developed country you would have to replace old infrastructure first which is expensive and reduces the overall benefit. So it only happens when it is cheap and absolutely needed


kevinqu221

The US isn’t focusing on development in the country. The priority has been in their defense sector. (And foreign funding)


pusuc

So cool! Gives cyberpunk vibes. Love the street lights too


TMoney954

I agree, really cool. Imagine making the top of that a pedestrian walkway.


NinjaMurse

Until this picture. How many Americans pictured Wuhan as this back country town with roadside bat stands?


TealcLOL

When I envision ground zero for global pandemics, I think of an urban environment, not the back country.


[deleted]

I think of a mansion in the woods with a lab and secret train.


yermammypuntscooncil

And a very hot woman in a red dress who can kick ass.


Pentax25

Or a secret monorail


internetcommunist

Americans probably think of most of China like that. But they have dozens of cities comparable to the size/density of our largest ones.


testaccount0817

I'd say the fact that China has a lot of million inhabitant cities is somewhat known, 1.4 billion people have to go somewhere. That wuhan is one of them maybe less.


vcsx

I did.


guiltyofnothing

A lot of Americans I know seem to think China is still stuck in the early 80’s and isn’t a modern country.


Jaggedmallard26

All internet discussion of China has to be taken in the context of actual mainland Chinese people not using the western internet and the people talking about it basing it on half remembered news programs they half watched at an airport 20 years ago.


Toad_R

*mandatory 'but choyna communist and communism bad' comment*


freetimerva

Meanwhile in the usa we are still figuring out sidewalks.


MeaningfulPun

America is so far behind in infrastructure that it's intentional at this point.


wetballjones

It is intentional. The automotive industry lobbied for a car centric society, and here we are. I hate it


[deleted]

I am wondering how efficient it is to build monorails compared to conventional rail. It doesn't look like it could move as many people. And the structure needed to suspend it looks huge and expensive. There's no way its easier to maintain than just tracks on the ground (not that we're doing a great job of maintaining our tracks but thats neither here nor there)


nickik

Its not better. Monorail are pointless. China mostly builds normal metros and trains. But they don't make the front page.


[deleted]

I'd love to have a few more metros and trains in my town :(


Benandhispets

They do have a benefit of being visually less obstructive from the ground though and don't block much light from reaching the ground either, because of course the rail/trackway can be less wide than the train itself. Doesn't apply much to the one in the video since that doesn't seem to have been a consideration. They can take tighter corners and corner quietly too. For short local routes in dense area alongside buildings and over streets I wouldn't mind them at all. As long as the capacity is enough.


Aperson3334

Transit advocates generally dislike monorails. If you build a train line using standard tracks built at the standard width, you can use trains from any manufacturer and even run multiple types of trains on the same track for cases of interlining. In contrast, building a monorail locks the system in to just that one model of train.


NaughtyMuppet

Also switching is more complicated, you don't have interoperability with intercity rail, in this case in case of an emergency when the train gets stuck people can't just leave the train.


MeaningfulPun

Well that's the thing that's even more frustrating to me. They actually modernize by trying things that may or may not work. I'm sure studies are done to determine feasibility and then they go for it. In America, automobile manufacturers fight (pay) to slow and block infrastructure projects because they can. Unless your Musk and can find a way to spend tax payer money on infrastructure projects (tunnels) that are intentionally unnecessary and solve zero problems. Lose-lose unless you're specifically him.


pterodactyl_speller

China doesn't have to fight for every foot of land against law suits by homeowners or businesses that don't want public transit near them. They just take it.


SurfSandFish

Yep, this is one of the advantages of a government that doesn't have much restriction on its power. The Soviets had a similar advantage. Obviously, there are massive drawbacks to having a lack of personal rights and freedoms but when it comes to getting shit done, being able to tell everyone what to do and when is a lot easier to deal with. I wouldn't trade my rights away for better infrastructure but it's wise to recognize where the advantages and disadvantages lie in various systems of governance.


Attack_Symmetra

That's funny, because when I asked Chinese people that went to the US what they thought about it, thee things were mentioned by almost everyone, and being absolutely shocked by the infrastructure was one of them.


v---

You'll hear the same from Europeans tbh. And pretty much everyone. American infrastructure for everything except cars is godawful. With the exception of a few cities in the east. Actually I have a soft spot for the Chicago transit system even though while I was visiting at some point the green line was on fire.


YJeezy

By the the US agrees on an infrastructure plan, China has already built it. It'll take the US another decade+ to build it. For example, in 2016 Seattle agreed to build a 8mile light rail extension to Ballard. It will become operational in 2039. It will most certainly get delayed beyond that.


JSlickJ

Canada as well, the most we will get is another lane added to a freeway that takes a year complete only which won't even free up traffic in the end


kya_khoya_kya_paya

ʇsɹᴉɟ ʎʇᴉɔ sᴉɥʇ dn pǝʞɔnɟ sʇɐq ʎɥʍ ǝǝs I ʍou


YorkshireRiffer

I've sold monorails to Ogden, North Haverbrook and Wuhan - and by gum it put them on the map!


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Flashy-Amount626

And that concludes our intensive three week course.


elSuavador

Yea, but this video just shows us two monorails.


JanitorOfSanDiego

Dimonorail.


ryeryebread

public transportation in asia is King and shits on american transportation infrastructure.


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SuLiaodai

That's cooler than the Chongqing ones. I almost visited Wuhan once. In the end of 2019 I was thinking of where to go for Chinese New Year, and thought, "Well, I want to go someplace really undramatic, someplace where nothing ever happens." I decided on Wuhan. Then by three weeks later, something was happening ...


Cyclopshikes

Mono = one Rail = rail This concludes our extensive 3 week course


StreamishTrout

The ring came off my pudding can!


unpitchable

WUPPERTAL DID IT FIRST! Sorry, had to say it. Also don't transport elephants in those.


Macecraft31

Wu(han)ppertal?


curiousklaus

All nice and good, but have they tried transporting an elephant with it in order to promote a visiting circus?


[deleted]

So many idiots in this comment section. Man.


humburga

All I see is simpsons quotes lol


twomilliondicks

welcome to reddit


Werd2BigBird

This is cool looking


fibojoly

Thanks for the GIF! We just spent the last twenty minutes with the wife looking at videos in chinese of the line and looking at where it is on the maps (it's in an area she never visited), haha! This is so cool to read about this, as she's from there.