Malta’s monorail: an exclusive interview with the architects
24 March 2015, published by LITTLEROCK.com.mt
Maltarail - a railway with an elevated single track and suspended trains - conceived by two recently graduated architects, Justin Zarb and Luke Lapira, could indeed become a reality. The idea has been presented to Transport Malta and the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure, and the submission of a Malta monorail project to the European Investment Initiative indicates some commitment to implement it.
"We came up with the name Maltarail while preparing a presentation which we could show to Transport Malta and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure about a year ago. The project itself started out as the design brief for a final-year structural engineering project, which was the design of a monorail station. We felt that creating a route would help us grasp the extent of such a system, as well as estimate the amount of trains and commuters arriving at our stations; this information would be useful to size the platforms according to the flow of people, for instance."
After graduating, a series of events followed whereby the two friends developed the project into a research paper, which was then also presented to the relevant Transport Malta officials by April 2014. As interest grew, the young architects set about compiling their work into the Maltarail website in order to present their project to the public, at the same time that plans for a monorail were revealed in an EU document towards the end of 2014.
While previous monorail proposals tended to include multi-storey car parks, the young architects aim to get car drivers to switch to public transport entirely. In their vision, cars would be seen as more viable for commutes which are not suitable for monorail, such as shopping trips, jobs that require frequent trips, pleasure driving, and so on.
"If stations are designed with huge car parks, commuters will arrive comfortably to the station nearest their destination, but still require transport from the monorail network to their final destination. This is why having a supporting infrastructure is so important; it should be the most attractive option to get to the nearest station. For this to work, there must be a reliable system in place which takes people from their origin to their destination at a good speed, low cost and in reasonable comfort. The monorail will play a major role, but an equally effective road-level infrastructure is required to cover the first and last mile of the journey."
Assuming this infrastructure is in place would allow for a drastic reduction in the size (hence cost) of stations, where the design at ground level would consist of bus stops, taxi stalls, bike racks and only a few priority parking spaces. It would appear, then, that the monorail would ease the ever-increasing traffic congestion problem.
"Public transport currently faces a general stigma, and the general attitude is that drivers expect others to use it more so that they encounter less traffic while driving their car. If we had to suspend reality and hypothesise a future with a monorail in Malta, to mitigate congestion it would have to encourage car drivers to choose public transport over their personal vehicles. Being a 'grade-separated' mode of transport, it does not use the same infrastructure as current public transport, so travel times will be consistent as they will not be affected by traffic. This could be a pull factor, but ultimately it will depend on how the 'last mile' principle is addressed."
When designing the routes, Justin and Luke aimed to create routes that compete in efficiency and travel when compared to private transport. Using data from the Household Travel Survey 2010, they were able to determine the most frequent commutes and decide where to locate the stations. The routes are available on the Maltarail website.
Asked whether they had considered a link to Gozo via monorail as an alternative to the tunnel or bridge idea, the architects admitted that feasibility depends on several issues, particularly on whether the construction and running costs can offset the cost of congestion in our existing road infrastructure. At the moment, they do not consider such a route to be viable, however "without a full feasibility and cost benefit analysis we stand to be corrected."
Since it appears to offer part of a good solution, why has a monorail not yet been implemented in Malta? The architects admit that constructing such an extensive infrastructure should not be taken lightly; there must be distinctly positive results from a cost-benefit analysis, which has not yet been carried out, although there were mentions of this in December 2014.
"There are cheaper alternatives, such as the optimisation of junctions, which can and should be implemented before even considering an investment like monorail. A few traffic jams here and there are not a big enough reason alone to build one. However, it ought to be looked into just in case congestion keeps getting worse and the bus system network either remains unattractive or becomes overloaded."
Still, Luke and Justin's project could have what it takes to become something tangible. They presented the project in such a way that it can easily be deconstructed and improved.
"While developing it, we took a technical approach to design a route that considers local travel patterns, the urban fabric in which it will pass, the technical capabilities of the system and the cost implications of such a long route. We looked at the monorail technologies available on the market, selecting the ALWEG small-type monorail as it is most suitable for its size, silence (it runs on rubber tyres), and ability to handle steeper gradients and tight bends, plus visual impact is critical in this project so having such a small monorail provides the added benefit of requiring smaller guide rails. Selecting an existing monorail technology also allowed us to calculate the route times, while our costings are derived from case studies of existing monorail projects. In coming up with the final project, some assumptions had to be made in these areas in order to come up with a more concrete solution. If the issues we highlight in this proposal are researched further, this project has the potential to move forward from just an idea on paper."
Luke and Justin explain that, while their project does not yet include a fully-fledged feasibility study for a monorail in Malta, it could be used as a basis for such a study before the project is considered for implementation. The plans in their current form are the result of months of dedication and planning by just two people, and before the project is in its final form prior to implementation, validation of the routes themselves against existing and predicted travel data, Environmental Impact Analyses and Cost Benefit Analyses need to be carried out, with support from all political stakeholders so that the project would not lie with the responsibility of one administration only.
Justin and Luke also point out that the economic, environmental and social impact of implementing this project would be great.
"First of all, it is an economic burden to invest in such a project and therefore any Cost-Benefit studies must justify its implementation. Such an analysis should consider the financial impact that stations will have on nearby areas, the impact on tourism and Malta’s image, the impact on properties immediately adjacent to the rail, and so on.
"Environmentally, we would reduce exhaust emissions as monorails run on electricity, and green sources of electricity could reduce the overall carbon footprint for transport altogether. This would help the country achieve EU targets for energy reduction in transport. Another benefit would be the quietness of the system, since it runs on electricity and is driven by rubber tyres on concrete rather than steel on steel as in the case of light rail.
"Having a multi-modal public transport system would cause a shift in travel patterns for many commuters, as public transport would compete in comfort and travel time with personal vehicles. It would also instil a general change in mentality towards public transport, which would be a safe, efficient and reliable way to travel."
Finally, if the whole thing is deemed feasible and the project goes ahead, it looks like a monorail could be in place in no time. A monorail system does not take exceptionally long to construct, as most elements can be pre-fabricated and site-disruption is minimal throughout its execution. Although Luke and Justin have already assumed a specific type of monorail available in the market for their research, the final look of Maltarail would be determined by many factors as monorails are proprietary designs and each one has its own requirements. However they foresee stations and columns designed and fabricated locally, and which could either have completely individual designs or adopt a common language.
It seems that many of the details have been thought out, the authorities have been involved, an EU paper has been submitted and all that is left is for feasibility studies to be carried out before we learn whether the project will be tweaked and implemented or scrapped altogether. It looks like it is now a matter of time to see what happens next; perhaps it might not be too long before you too will be commuting with Maltarail.
"We came up with the name Maltarail while preparing a presentation which we could show to Transport Malta and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure about a year ago. The project itself started out as the design brief for a final-year structural engineering project, which was the design of a monorail station. We felt that creating a route would help us grasp the extent of such a system, as well as estimate the amount of trains and commuters arriving at our stations; this information would be useful to size the platforms according to the flow of people, for instance."
After graduating, a series of events followed whereby the two friends developed the project into a research paper, which was then also presented to the relevant Transport Malta officials by April 2014. As interest grew, the young architects set about compiling their work into the Maltarail website in order to present their project to the public, at the same time that plans for a monorail were revealed in an EU document towards the end of 2014.
While previous monorail proposals tended to include multi-storey car parks, the young architects aim to get car drivers to switch to public transport entirely. In their vision, cars would be seen as more viable for commutes which are not suitable for monorail, such as shopping trips, jobs that require frequent trips, pleasure driving, and so on.
"If stations are designed with huge car parks, commuters will arrive comfortably to the station nearest their destination, but still require transport from the monorail network to their final destination. This is why having a supporting infrastructure is so important; it should be the most attractive option to get to the nearest station. For this to work, there must be a reliable system in place which takes people from their origin to their destination at a good speed, low cost and in reasonable comfort. The monorail will play a major role, but an equally effective road-level infrastructure is required to cover the first and last mile of the journey."
Assuming this infrastructure is in place would allow for a drastic reduction in the size (hence cost) of stations, where the design at ground level would consist of bus stops, taxi stalls, bike racks and only a few priority parking spaces. It would appear, then, that the monorail would ease the ever-increasing traffic congestion problem.
"Public transport currently faces a general stigma, and the general attitude is that drivers expect others to use it more so that they encounter less traffic while driving their car. If we had to suspend reality and hypothesise a future with a monorail in Malta, to mitigate congestion it would have to encourage car drivers to choose public transport over their personal vehicles. Being a 'grade-separated' mode of transport, it does not use the same infrastructure as current public transport, so travel times will be consistent as they will not be affected by traffic. This could be a pull factor, but ultimately it will depend on how the 'last mile' principle is addressed."
When designing the routes, Justin and Luke aimed to create routes that compete in efficiency and travel when compared to private transport. Using data from the Household Travel Survey 2010, they were able to determine the most frequent commutes and decide where to locate the stations. The routes are available on the Maltarail website.
Asked whether they had considered a link to Gozo via monorail as an alternative to the tunnel or bridge idea, the architects admitted that feasibility depends on several issues, particularly on whether the construction and running costs can offset the cost of congestion in our existing road infrastructure. At the moment, they do not consider such a route to be viable, however "without a full feasibility and cost benefit analysis we stand to be corrected."
Since it appears to offer part of a good solution, why has a monorail not yet been implemented in Malta? The architects admit that constructing such an extensive infrastructure should not be taken lightly; there must be distinctly positive results from a cost-benefit analysis, which has not yet been carried out, although there were mentions of this in December 2014.
"There are cheaper alternatives, such as the optimisation of junctions, which can and should be implemented before even considering an investment like monorail. A few traffic jams here and there are not a big enough reason alone to build one. However, it ought to be looked into just in case congestion keeps getting worse and the bus system network either remains unattractive or becomes overloaded."
Still, Luke and Justin's project could have what it takes to become something tangible. They presented the project in such a way that it can easily be deconstructed and improved.
"While developing it, we took a technical approach to design a route that considers local travel patterns, the urban fabric in which it will pass, the technical capabilities of the system and the cost implications of such a long route. We looked at the monorail technologies available on the market, selecting the ALWEG small-type monorail as it is most suitable for its size, silence (it runs on rubber tyres), and ability to handle steeper gradients and tight bends, plus visual impact is critical in this project so having such a small monorail provides the added benefit of requiring smaller guide rails. Selecting an existing monorail technology also allowed us to calculate the route times, while our costings are derived from case studies of existing monorail projects. In coming up with the final project, some assumptions had to be made in these areas in order to come up with a more concrete solution. If the issues we highlight in this proposal are researched further, this project has the potential to move forward from just an idea on paper."
Luke and Justin explain that, while their project does not yet include a fully-fledged feasibility study for a monorail in Malta, it could be used as a basis for such a study before the project is considered for implementation. The plans in their current form are the result of months of dedication and planning by just two people, and before the project is in its final form prior to implementation, validation of the routes themselves against existing and predicted travel data, Environmental Impact Analyses and Cost Benefit Analyses need to be carried out, with support from all political stakeholders so that the project would not lie with the responsibility of one administration only.
Justin and Luke also point out that the economic, environmental and social impact of implementing this project would be great.
"First of all, it is an economic burden to invest in such a project and therefore any Cost-Benefit studies must justify its implementation. Such an analysis should consider the financial impact that stations will have on nearby areas, the impact on tourism and Malta’s image, the impact on properties immediately adjacent to the rail, and so on.
"Environmentally, we would reduce exhaust emissions as monorails run on electricity, and green sources of electricity could reduce the overall carbon footprint for transport altogether. This would help the country achieve EU targets for energy reduction in transport. Another benefit would be the quietness of the system, since it runs on electricity and is driven by rubber tyres on concrete rather than steel on steel as in the case of light rail.
"Having a multi-modal public transport system would cause a shift in travel patterns for many commuters, as public transport would compete in comfort and travel time with personal vehicles. It would also instil a general change in mentality towards public transport, which would be a safe, efficient and reliable way to travel."
Finally, if the whole thing is deemed feasible and the project goes ahead, it looks like a monorail could be in place in no time. A monorail system does not take exceptionally long to construct, as most elements can be pre-fabricated and site-disruption is minimal throughout its execution. Although Luke and Justin have already assumed a specific type of monorail available in the market for their research, the final look of Maltarail would be determined by many factors as monorails are proprietary designs and each one has its own requirements. However they foresee stations and columns designed and fabricated locally, and which could either have completely individual designs or adopt a common language.
It seems that many of the details have been thought out, the authorities have been involved, an EU paper has been submitted and all that is left is for feasibility studies to be carried out before we learn whether the project will be tweaked and implemented or scrapped altogether. It looks like it is now a matter of time to see what happens next; perhaps it might not be too long before you too will be commuting with Maltarail.
