Train travel has everything going for it: it’s convenient, it’s sustainable, it’s fun. Upside-down train travel is much the same, but it kicks up the fun factor up a notch by virtue of being above ground. Upside-down trains, also known as dangling train, but more seriously referred to as suspended monorails, are similar to the monorails you can ride in Seattle and Las Vegas, but instead of having wheels and tracks on the bottom of the carriages, they are on the top. What makes suspended monorails even more special is their rarity: There are fewer than 10 working suspended monorail systems remaining, four of which are in Germany. The one in the city of Wuppertal in western Germany is the oldest of them all, having been in operation since 1901.
You Can Travel by Upside-Down Train in Germany
Wuppertal’s suspended monorail is not a long-distance train, instead it works like a city tram or a metro line, traveling a distance of eight miles through the city and covering 20 stations along the way. While the suspended monorail is an attraction that brings a lot of tourists to Wuppertal, it is very much used by the locals as a genuine mode of transport. Around 80,000 people use it daily.
@itswandertime Riding the upside down train (Schwebebahn) in Germany 🇩🇪🚊..#wuppertal #elberfeld #germany #germanytourism #september2022 #trainride #deutschland #europe #travel #adventure #igtravel #exploredreamdiscover #wanderlust #traveltheworld #travelgram #travels #instatravel #ilovetravel #travellife #seetheworld #travelers #traveladdict #traveling #itchyfeet #travelling #instatraveling #tourtheplanet #wonderful_places #travellerau #travelmemories ♬ original sound – It's Wander Time
Riding Wuppertal’s suspended monorail is easy, cheap, and much more scenic than you might imagine a city train to be. There’s a train every three to six minutes, and it’ll only cost you $8.90 for a ticket valid 24 hours, or $16.90 for a 48-hour ticket. It takes 30 minutes to cover the eight miles of track, of which six miles are located above the river, making for lovely scenery for the riders. Wuppertal’s suspended monorail zips above the city at heights of between 26 and 39 foot above ground.
The official website of Wuppertal’s suspended monorail provides visitors with an interactive map of all the stops on the train’s route with all the best attractions at each stop listed.
If you make your way to Wuppertal by way of the nearby Düsseldorf airport, you’ll likely be able to ride two suspended monorails in one day. The driverless SkyTrain runs the 1.5-mile route between Düsseldorf Airport railway station and Terminal C since 2002. Riding will allow you to compare and contrast two suspended monorails built one century apart. 