California’s Great America to debut single rail steel coaster in 2018

California’s Great America theme park announced yesterday that they will introduce a brand-new single rail steel coaster called RailBlazer in 2018.

RailBlazer will be the first coaster of its kind on the West Coast, and feature a single rail track throughout the entire coaster. The coaster design has each rider straddle the rail, which creates an extremely low center of gravity that makes every move and turn more dynamic and exciting.

Each rail-hugging train car will hold eight riders in single file, and give an unobstructed view of the ground and sky as riders glide over the track. The coaster will bring riders up 106 feet in the air, just before sending them face down at a 90-degree angle.

With 1,800 feet of coaster track, the ride will travel at 52 miles per hour, giving plenty of airtime, banked turns, a zero-gravity roll and three inversions.

“RailBlazer is a revolutionary roller coaster concept that will be an intense and exhilarating ride experience for our guests,” said Raul Rehnborg, Vice President and General Manager of California’s Great America. “In addition, it marks the company’s initial investment in the park following the City of Santa Clara’s approval this year of the new park master plan, and kicks off a multi-year transformation of California’s Great America into a world-class destination for everyone in the Bay Area and beyond.”

The coaster’s design is similar to that of an off-road adventure, and sends riders up a 45-degree climb as the ride begins. Just afterward, the coaster dives into a ravine and takes on steep embankments, fully representing the four-wheeling, off-road journey. Even the queue is themed to an outdoor expedition, with rocky surroundings, a natural waterway, and a trailhead sign at the beginning of the journey.

For more information on RailBlazer and California’s Great America theme park, visit cagreatamerica.com. Check out the announcement video for RailBlazer below: