A little over a week ago, the head of government of Buenos Aires said, Jorge Macrinoted that the city of Buenos Aires is studying the construction of a monorail on Avenida General Paz as part of a strategy to expand the public transport network and relieve congestion on the ring road around the capital.

The initiative was presented during his participation in the program Quincho economics. The aim is to use the existing infrastructure of the avenue and add alternatives to the combination of modes of transport. “One of the big projects we have undertaken on the tour of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai is the possibility of installing a monorail on the General Paz. As we have the physical impact of this highway, A monorail system could be installed at the top and a parking system at the bottom where people could park their cars, get on the monorail, get off and transfer to another public transportation system.“, he said.

In response to the request from THE NATIONFrom the Ministry of Mobility and Infrastructure of Buenos Aires, they recalled that this is not a new idea, as it has already been analyzed in previous governments. “General Paz will continue to be used in its original design and expansions than planned, and alternatives that improve mobility and improve passenger transportation are being evaluated.” The monorail alternative is a project that has been studied for several years“, they stated.

The monorail is a guided transportation system in which vehicles circulate on a single support, usually elevated and made of concrete. It is powered by electric motors and can operate over road corridors without impacting existing traffic, reducing the need for large-scale works. This type of infrastructure is used in cities such as Tokyo, Chongqing, Dubai and Sao Paulo to connect densely populated areas or integrate them into multimodal transport networks. The world’s oldest suspension railway in operation with wagons hanging on a central track is the Wuppertal suspension railway.

THE NATION requested details of the works announced by Jorge Macri, but clarified that a feasibility study is currently being carried out. “This allows us to assess in detail whether the General Paz facility meets the technical, urban and environmental conditions for the installation of a monorail system.“, they explained from the above-mentioned ministry.

And they added: “The goal is to have objective and accurate information before pushing forward a definition.” The monorail is an alternative to increase the capacity of the urban transport network, but always based on technical knowledge and coordination with the various organizations involved.“.

Technical accuracy

For experts, the construction could develop into an advantage for mobility in metropolises, provided the project is carefully evaluated from a technical point of view. Roberto Agosta, member of the National Academy of Engineering, professor at the University of Torcuato Di Tella and president of AC&A Engineers-Economists-Planners, said: “The monorail is a medium-capacity transportation technology that exists in several places in the world. It has different variants (suspended, supported, etc.) and.” The main advantage is that the structure is very light and unobtrusive, except during the seasons.“.

Andrés Borthagaray, architect, urban planner and member of the Scientific Council of the Biennale dello Spazio Pubblicowas of the opinion that “Monorail solutions are interesting in light of international precedents and are more typical for densely populated urban areas in combination with subways or meters.“.

However, experts also warn that the path to its realization presents numerous obstacles. Inés Schmidt, honorary researcher at the Higher Institute for Urban Planning, Space and Environment at the UBA’s Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, explained: “Is it feasible? In principle we can answer yes.” However, there is no information on technical and economic feasibility, which means the project loses credibility. If we ask ourselves how it should be sustainable, we should first ask ourselves whether there is a comprehensive proposal for mobility: what infrastructure is necessary, what needs, wishes and expectations do the people who move around the metropolis every day have?

For Borthagaray, the central question is how to evaluate the construction of a monorail within a realistic framework of priorities, budget constraints and international background. “The 2026 budget has just been approved, in which there is a multi-year investment plan. There are forecasts of finally putting a future line F into operation, and there are open issues of different sizes, from the improvement of existing metro and train stations – including the internal connection of line E to Retiro – to the arrival of line H from Hospitales to Sáenz station, which would allow to complete efforts already made and provide a much-needed service.”

Projects from the 20th century for the 21st century

To this analysis, he added that a monorail system would also require high costs, demanding maintenance, effective multimodal integration and a sophisticated level of institutionality. “The main focus is on how projects are integrated into an articulated strategy” said.

The idea of building a monorail is, as I said, not new. There were previous initiatives that were shelved and experts say should be completely updated. “In the case of General Paz, there was a proposal made many years ago that needed to be reassessed and an in-depth study carried out, analyzing all aspects and details and taking into account the evolution of technology and people’s travel habits in recent decades,” explained Agosta.

Schmidt agreed on the need to update the discussion: “Initiatives were presented in the 90s. The topic was also discussed in the early 2000s.” We are closing the first quarter of the 21st century and “infrastructures” continue to reign supreme without addressing mobility“, he concluded.