Operations of the Ueno Zoo monorail in Taito Ward, Tokyo, will be suspended from Nov. 1 due to the aging of the monorail cars, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced Wednesday. A decision on whether to scrap the monorail line -- the first such line in Japan to be used for public transit -- will be made after consultations with experts and Tokyo residents.
Operated by the Tokyo metropolitan government's Bureau of Transportation, the Ueno Zoo monorail, which is officially called the Ueno Kensui Line, links the zoo's east and west parks.
The monorail began operations in December 1957 as an experiment in urban transport development. It runs about 300 meters and even today attracts about 1 million passengers per year.
The aging monorail cars currently in operation were introduced in fiscal 2001, with the construction of new cars expected to take about three years and cost more than 1 billion yen. The metropolitan government decided to consider whether to keep the line after suspending services because the monorail's broader facilities also require a large-scale renovation.
Other means of transportation, including electric vehicles, will be provided free of charge for the duration of the suspension, the metropolitan government said.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
