MONOCAB-Campusbahn at the Innovation Campus Lemgo

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the „REGIONALE Ostwestfalen-Lippe: Vernetzte Mobilität und digitale Anwendungen“ program.
       

Campus track at the Innovation Campus Lemgo
Planning and realization of a MONOCAB test track on the Innovation Campus Lemgo (ICL).
MONOCABs are narrow, gyro-stabilized rail vehicles that can run on just one conventional rail. They enable the fast and cost-efficient reactivation of disused railroad lines with simultaneous bidirectional operation on one track as well as the realization of campus, inner city and factory railroads. The battery-powered electric vehicles, which can travel at speeds of up to 60 km/h and have 6 seats, are barrier-free and operate autonomously in a flexible, demand-driven mobility concept (service-on-demand). 
Since 2020, the project partners OWL University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Fraunhofer IOSB-INA have been developing the MONOCAB as a new mode of transport, so that a first generation of test vehicles could already be presented in 2022. These demonstrated the feasibility of such a system with a corresponding cabin design and self-stabilization under real conditions. The aim of further research projects is now to make MONOCABs safe and economical in order to develop prototypes and implementation concepts by 2029 so that the first line reactivations and campus railroads can start regular operations.

In the MONOCAB-Campusbahn project at the ICL, a first section (approx. 300 m) of a single-track MONOCAB route including the necessary infrastructure (communication, stop, maintenance and parking area) is to be realized by 2026 as a test and reference route for the further development of MONOCABs. The campus railroad will be extended in the future, e.g. as a ring route, in order to be available as a mobility solution for people on the Innovation Campus and its surroundings.