Operating from 1982 to 2005, Sentosa’s monorail was both a transportation system and an attraction in itself. Along its 30-minute route around the island, the monorail afforded elevated views of Sentosa’s natural environment. The section of the monorail route curving around Sentosa’s western tip was said to be one of its most scenic, with views of nearby islands and the forested Mount Imbiah.
First mooted in the mid-1970s for its reduced air and noise pollution impact, the monorail system was key to preserving Sentosa’s resort atmosphere. Utilising an electric rail system, it replaced double-decker buses as the main mode of transport on Sentosa. Many of the train drivers had previously been employed as bus drivers and guides on Sentosa, before being retrained to operate the monorail.
The six-kilometre loop route wound its way through the island’s rolling terrain. Starting and ending at the Ferry Terminal station, the monorail took visitors to stations at the former Apollo Sentosa hotel, Swimming Lagoon (now Palawan Beach), Fort Siloso, and the cable car station at Carlton Hill (now Sentosa Station). Each train had 15 cabins and a carrying capacity of around 1,000 passengers per hour.
By the 2000s, many visitors to Sentosa had come to expect a different level of transport service, including air-conditioned travel and a shorter commute. In 2007, the monorail was replaced by the Sentosa Express, a light rail service with a higher passenger capacity. Some monorail stations were repurposed as attractions, including Sentosa Nature Discovery at Imbiah Lookout and a military museum at Fort Siloso. A section of the monorail tracks has also been adapted into an elevated walk that leads to Sentosa Nature Discovery.
Explore the Suggested Short Trail Routes:
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Kampong and Barracks, 2 hours with public transport, 3km
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Forts, 2 hours on foot, 4km
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Memories of Sentosa, 1 hour on foot, 2.5km
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