Editing Monorail (section)

=== Recent applications ===
[[File:Монорельсовая дорога 3.JPG|thumb|Mining monorail]]
Very small and lightweight systems are used widely on farms to transport crops such as bananas.<ref>{{cite news |title=Far north Queensland gets a monorail... for bananas |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2012-04-17/far-north-queensland-gets-a-monorail-for-bananas/6167136 |publisher=ABC News |date=17 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Banana Field Monorails Exist! |url=https://www.monorails.org/tMspages/banana.html |access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref> First developed in Japan, industrial versions of [[slope car]]s are used in agriculture in steep sloped areas such as citrus orchards in Japan and vineyards in Italy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monorail for Gardening and Farming |url=http://monotec.international/using/full/51.html |access-date=6 August 2021}}</ref> One European manufacturer says they have installed 650 systems worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monorack Ecofriendly, energy-saving and compact A transport solution of the special kind |url=https://www.doppelmayr.com/products/monorack/ |access-date=6 August 2021}}</ref>

In the mining industry suspended monorails have been used because of their ability to descend and climb steep tunnels using rack and pinion drive. This significantly reduces cost and length of tunnels, by up to 60% in some cases, which otherwise must be at gentle gradients to suit road vehicles or conventional railways.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Besa |first1=Bunda |title=Evaluation of monorail haulage systems in metalliferous underground mining |date=July 2010 |pages=390 |url=https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/1196 |access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Monorail Suspended Transport |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/products/monorail-suspended-transport/ |access-date=4 July 2021 |publisher=Mining Technology |date=23 February 2018}}</ref>

A suspended monorail capable of carrying fully loaded 20' and 40' containers has been under construction since 2020 at the [[Port of Qingdao]], the first phase of which was put into operation in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Qingdao Port smart system a world first |url=https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202011/17/WS5fb333b9a31024ad0ba9497e.html |access-date=4 July 2021 |publisher=China Daily |date=17 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=World's first smart container transport system put into use at east China's Qingdao Port 全球首個智能集裝箱運輸 |website = [[YouTube]]| date=30 June 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQILPiUGETo&t=7s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211111/SQILPiUGETo| archive-date=2021-11-11 | url-status=live|access-date=4 July 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>