The Shonan Monorail (湘南モノレール, Shōnan Monorēru) is a suspended SAFEGE monorail in the cities of Kamakura and Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the Shonan Monorail Co., Ltd. (湘南モノレール株式会社, Shōnan Monorēru Kabushiki-gaisha) which belongs to Michinori Holdings, and opened on March 7, 1970, the first monorail of its kind in Japan.
Trains run on a 6.6 km (4.1 mi) line called the Enoshima Line. It is used by commuters that work in Tokyo or Yokohama, tourists visiting Enoshima, and, in summer months, city dwellers who are visiting the parks or baths of Enoshima.
The monorail was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the line opened March 7, 1970 between Ōfuna and Nishi-Kamakura. The rest of the line opened on July 1, 1971.[1]
Until 2018, the monorail company was part owned by Keihin Kyuko Electric Railway because the monorail line runs over "Keihin Kyuko Line" which was a toll road operated by Keikyu.[2] Seibu Railway also had investment in the company because Kokudo which was a subsidiary of Seibu Group developed land around Kataseyama Station.
In May 2015, most shares of this monorail line and company were transferred to Michinori Holdings from Mitsubishi Group.[3]
In 2018, this company became a wholly subsidiary company of Michinori Holdings.
Shonan Monorail, showing its sistership relationship with Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, GermanyThe Shonan Monorail is twinned with Wuppertal Schwebebahn since 2018, a suspension railway located in Wuppertal, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Both suspension railways hung down on the rail and are known tourist destinations for Monorail enthusiasts. Both suspension railways made a twinning campaign on its doorside in September 2018.[4]
Add new comment