In Germany in particular, most suburban rail routes have long ceased operation, although railway lines remain, albeit in a dilapidated state. The idea is to create a wagon with a monorail cabin, seating 4-6 people, that can move comfortably in both directions on the same rail.

There is a supply and demand problem in passenger transportation to the suburbs in the country. Citizens living there prefer to use personal transportation, which environmentally conscious authorities do not like.

The introduction of on-demand rail service in the form of monorails on electric mini-vehicles would be consistent with the move away from fossil fuels and preserve the convenience of travel for people who no longer have to wait for the occasional train or sightseeing bus.

Project details

The Monocab project, developed by the German University of Technology OWL (Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Technology), the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and the Fraunhofer Institute IOSB-INA, is not that large-scale in practice, but has innovative essence. Modern technologies make it possible to create compact electric cars with gyroscopes and electronics that can automatically move along predetermined routes.

Gyroscope rendering of electric cars/Photo Monocab

The European Union Fund started financing the project in 2022. To date, prototypes of cars moving with the support of the second rail have been created without a self-balancing system. You can see what it looks like in the video below.

The wagons of the monorail route are planned to be put into operation in 2028. To prevent cars from piling up at the end of the track, engineers are designing a rail machine that would automatically transfer them from one rail to the other and prepare them to move in the opposite direction.