- Okinawa Monorail
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Okinawa City Monorail Line 
Info Locale Naha, Okinawa Transit type straddle-beam monorail Number of lines 1 Number of stations 15 Daily ridership 35,000 Operation Began operation August 2003 Operator(s) Okinawa Urban Monorail Incorporated Technical System length 12.8 kilometres Yui Rail - Stations Legend
0 Naha-kūkō Station (Airport) 
1.95 Akamine Station 2.71 Oroku Station 3.68 Ōnoyama-kōen Station 4.52 Tsubogawa Station 5.33 Asahibashi Station 5.91 Kenchō-mae Station 6.63 Miebashi Station 7.61 Makishi Station 8.20 Asato Station 8.95 Omoromachi Station 9.96 Furujima Station 10.88 Shiritsu-byōin-mae Station 11.84 Gibo Station 
12.84 Shuri Station 
All the stations are barrier-free design. [1]
Okinawa Monorail at Akamine, the southern-most rail station in Japan
The Okinawa City Monorail Line (沖縄都市モノレール Okinawa Toshi Monorēru), or Yui Rail (ゆいレール Yui Rēru), is a monorail line in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by Okinawa Urban Monorail Incorporated (沖縄都市モノレール株式会社 Okinawa Toshi Monorēru Kabushiki-gaisha), it opened on August 10, 2003, and is currently the only functioning public rail system in Okinawa Prefecture. It was also the first rail line on Okinawa since World War II.
Contents
Yui Rail
This monorail line is called Yui Rail (ゆいレール Yui Rēru). Both the nickname and its symbol mark were selected from public subscription.[2] Yui Rail comprises 15 stations, running from Naha Airport in the west to Shuri (near Shuri Castle) in the east, running through the heart of Naha.[3] The average distance between stations is 0.93 kilometers. It takes 27 minutes and costs ¥290 to traverse its entire length of 12.8 km. It boasts including both the westernmost rail station in Japan (Naha Airport station) and the southernmost (Akamine station).
Trains are made up of two cars, with 65 seats and a total capacity of 165 people; however, there is ample standing room on the trains as well and they are routinely filled to more than double the capacity of their seating.[4]. Trains runs on an elevated track between 8 and 20 meters above the ground, with a top speed of 65 km/h (about 40 mph) and an actual average speed of 28 km/h (17 mph) counting stops.
Future extension
After lengthy deliberation of possible route options, the monorail corporation applied for construction permission for a 4.1-kilometer, 4-station extension from Shuri Station to Uranishi (浦西) in August 2011. Assuming permission is granted within nine months, the extension is scheduled to open in March 2019.[5]
Stations
Station name Japanese Total distance Location Naha-kūkō 那覇空港 0 km Naha, Okinawa Akamine 赤嶺 1.95 km Oroku 小禄 2.71 km Ōnoyama-kōen 奥武山公園 3.68 km Tsubogawa 壺川 4.52 km Asahibashi 旭橋 5.33 km Kenchō-mae 県庁前 5.91 km Miebashi 美栄橋 6.63 km Makishi 牧志 7.61 km Asato 安里 8.2 km Omoromachi おもろまち 8.95 km Furujima 古島 9.96 km Shiritsu-byōin-mae 市立病院前 10.88 km Gibo 儀保 11.84 km Shuri 首里 12.84 km 
Okinawa monorail Yui Rail ゆいレールReferences
- ^ "about Barrier-free", yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
- ^ "about Yui Rail", yui-rail.co.jp (Japanese)
- ^ "Naha" (html). http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Naha.html. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
- ^ "Okinawa Monorail Photo Special Page 3" (html). http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Okinawa3.html. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
- ^ http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/article/2011-08-30_22758/
See also
External links
Categories:- Monorails in Japan
- Rail transport in Okinawa Prefecture
- Naha, Okinawa
- ALWEG people movers
- Airport rail links in Japan
- Railway lines opened in 2003
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