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Sea World Monorail System

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Sea World Monorail System
Sea World (Australia)
StatusClosed
CostA$3 million
Ride statistics
Riders per vehicle96
Height restrictionChildren shorter than 105 cm (41 in) must be accompanied by an adult
AccessibleAvailable
Line statistics
Service
TypeStraddle-beam monorail
Rolling stock3 × 9-car Von Roll Holding Mark II
History
Opened15 August 1986 (1986-08-15)
Closed2022
Technical
Line length2 km (1.2 mi)
Electrification500 V AC third rail
Operating speed27 km/h (17 mph)

The Sea World Monorail System was a 2-kilometre (6,600 ft) monorail circuit around the Sea World theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.[1] It was Australia's only remaining monorail system, after the closure of the Sydney Monorail and the other system at Broadbeach, linking the Oasis Shopping Centre with The Star Gold Coast.

History

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The Sea World Monorail System was opened on 15 August 1986 by Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen as Australia's first monorail system.[2][3][4][5] Following the conclusion of World Expo 88 in Brisbane, at least one of the monorail trains was relocated to Sea World in 1989.[6][7][8] It was the first monorail opened in Australia.[9]

In 2022, the ride closed, and two of the three trains were removed.[10] In early 2024, the monorail was dismantled as part of park renovations. Due to rising maintenance costs including difficulty to procure parts, a decision was made to permanently close the monorail in 2024. In August 2024, Sea World confirmed the monorail had closed for good and would be completely dismantled.[9]

Statistics

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In its life, the monorail completed 330,000 circuits around the park and took 23 million guests.[9]

Stations

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The operator cab of one of the trains

Three stations were located along the 2-kilometre (6,600 ft) long route.[1] The first station was located near the front of the park adjacent to Penguin Encounter. It was known as the main monorail station. After taking a scenic journey alongside the Gold Coast Broadwater the monorail passed several Sea World attractions including the Dolphin Nursery, Fish Detectives arena, shopping plaza, Ray Reef and Polar Bear Shores.

The monorail then arrived at its next station known as the mid monorail station, located roughly in the centre of the park. This station was situated between Shark Bay and the Sea World Theatre. From the mid monorail station, the track then travelled between the Sea World Resort's 1.6-hectare (170,000 sq ft) water park (also available as an upcharge for Sea World guests[11]) and Castaway Bay before arriving at the Sea World Resort and Water Park monorail station.

The final leg of the monorail circuit was the longest. It began by travelling alongside the Imagine Dolphin Show arena and Dolphin Cove pools before passing over Jet Rescue and through the Sea Viper. The track then ran alongside the main lagoon where Pirates Unleashed is held before making a small circuit around the Sea World carpark and returning to the main monorail station.[12] All stations were located several metres above ground level and could be accessed via ramps or staircases.

Trains

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A monorail train at Sea World
Sea World Monorail System
Legend
 Sea World Resort Station
Maintenance facility
(not open to public)
 Mid Station
Main Station
Bus transfer
(via short walk outside park)

Three, nine-car trains were operated. Each of the trains could hold 96 passengers.[1][2] The last car on each train was modified to accommodate wheelchairs and strollers. A section of transfer track was located above Sea World Resort's Water Park and Castaway Bay.[12] This transfer track allowed trains to be removed from the main circuit and stored in a maintenance bay located directly under the mid monorail station.

It was rare for all three trains to operate on the same day. This only occurred occasionally in the peak summer season.[13] One of the monorail trains previously operated at World Expo 88 in Brisbane in 1988 and was relocated to Sea World in 1989.[6][7][8]

In May 2022, two of the three trains were removed for scrapping.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sea World Monorail System (Sea World)". Parkz. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b Australia's First Monorail Railway Digest December 1986 page 387
  3. ^ Monorail first at Seaworld Network January 1987 page 58
  4. ^ Sea World. "History and Development of Sea World". MyFun. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  5. ^ Sea World. "Sea World Mono Rail". MyFun. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Brisbane World Expo '88". New2Brisbane. 10 April 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  7. ^ a b Foster, Lee (1 May 1988). "Living It Up Down Under At Expo '88". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  8. ^ a b "World Expo Park". Database Entry. Parkz. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Worboys, Jessica (19 August 2021). "Sea World Monorail: Fond farewell to Gold Coast icon". Nine News. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  10. ^ a b Forbes, Tom (6 May 2022). "Sea World monorail future unclear after carriages removed from Gold Coast theme park to be destroyed". ABC News.
  11. ^ Sea World (2011). "Sea World Resort Water Park". MyFun. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  12. ^ a b Sea World (2011). "Park Map". MyFun. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  13. ^ Wilson, Richard (8 April 2005). "Sea World Monorail System". Photo. Parkz. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
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