rfmcdonald | [URBAN NOTE] "Toronto Zoo Considers New Train Technology to Replace the Old Monorail" (Reply)

Torontoist's Anda Zeng reports on an interesting proposal for the Toronto Zoo. Why not a cool maglev in place of the monorail?

Robin Hale, the Toronto Zoo’s chief operating officer, remembers riding the Domain Ride and is often asked whether the Zoo plans to bring it back. Better known as the monorail, the distinctive ride opened with the Zoo in 1976 and travelled along a 5-kilometre concrete guideway in a loop around the grounds. But after a couple of severe accidents in the early 90s and financial inability to ensure its safety, the Zoo closed the ride. Now, more than 20 years later, the Zoo is considering bringing back the monorail, complete with some significant, notably futuristic, upgrades.

In 2014, Edmonton-based company Magnovate began courting the Toronto Zoo with the proposition to retrofit the old guideway, equipping it with a magnetic levitation (maglev) train. The new technology would feature sleek, driverless single vehicles hovering above an electromagnetic track. Two years after approaching the Zoo, Magnovate submitted a full proposal in March.

The plan outlines how the company would rebuild a section of the original guideway loop, construct maglev rails, and get 12 vehicles up and running and powered by solar panels on the stations and infrastructure. The estimated price tag: $25 million for Magnovate, at no cost to the Zoo or the city.

Magnovate pitched the idea on April 7 to the Zoo’s Board of Management, which approved it for the next stage: an open call for proposals. The procedure invites other companies to make a better offer than the unsolicited bid, which Magnovate could match or exceed—a procurement process known as a Swiss Bid.