Amusement ride leader accelerates into monorail production
Discovery Reports
Leadership in one field can pave the way to leadership in another. Global thrill ride giant Intamin applies its expertise in moving people smoothly around theme parks to public transport systems worldwide.
Backed by 45 years of amusement ride experience, Intamin branched into Intamin Transportation and Intamin Amusement Rides in 2011, signalling the growing importance of its monorail division.
Like its signature roller coasters, Intamin's People Mover Systems are distinguished by engineering excellence that showcases their adaptability to any environment. Intamin's mountain monorail in Arosa, Switzerland, has a maximum incline of 52 per cent, while its test plant train in Moscow can operate in minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Specialising in small to medium projects, such as the 9,300-metre-long Xi'an monorail, allows Intamin to manufacture on a smaller, more economical scale. Ideal for countries such as the mainland, Germany and Italy, Intamin's monorails have low operating costs because of their high degree of automation. With virtually no emissions, its monorails are also environmentally sound.
The flagships of Intamin Transportation, the People Mover P30 and P35 feature the company's communications-based automatic train guidance system. Intamin will open a P30 as the Rivers Monorail in Port Harcourt, Nigeria in October.
Another P30 in Bologna, set to open next year, will move approximately 1,500 people per hour within seven minutes from the airport to the main train station. Solar panels installed along the length of the track provide clean energy for the system.
As a theme park ride powerhouse, Intamin continues to set records for the fastest, tallest and most popular rides. Its "Skyrush", with its breakthrough restraint system, won the 2012 Brass Ring Award for Best New Product.
Intamin's creations, such as the Atlantic Adventure Aquatrax at Lotte World in South Korea and Giant Drop in Guangzhou, are guaranteed crowd drawers for theme park developers.
In addition to supplying attractions, Intamin supports park developers with complete packages including engineering, fabrication and after-sales support. It looks to share its expertise with a top-quality fabricator willing to work exclusively for the long term.
"When we build a roller coaster, it works like a Swiss clock," says president Patrick Spieldiener. "So there's almost no maintenance, no noise and you get a very smooth ride that is completely different from something anyone else would build."