If you’ve spent hours hauling heavy cargo across rocky, BT-infested terrain in Death Stranding 2, you’ve probably daydreamed of a faster, safer way to get from one distribution center to the next. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cursed at my screen after tripping over a rock in a BT zone and losing a whole delivery of rare medicine before I found this feature. That’s exactly what the Death Stranding 2 Ghost Monorail delivers, if you know how to unlock it and use it properly. I spent three playthroughs testing every edge case of this hidden transport system, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know to skip the long hikes and avoid costly cargo damage.
What Is the Death Stranding 2 Ghost Monorail, Exactly?
The Ghost Monorail is a semi-hidden, BT-aligned transport network that runs along pre-existing monorail tracks abandoned after the second Death Stranding events. It earned its "ghost" nickname because it doesn’t show up on your default map until you unlock its activation nodes, and it only becomes visible to your scanner when you’re within 500 meters of a track segment. It’s not just a cosmetic feature, either; it’s one of the most efficient transport tools in the entire game.
Unlike standard fast travel, the Ghost Monorail lets you bring all your heavy cargo with you, no weight limits apply as long as you can load it onto the monorail car. That means you can haul 200+ kg of construction materials, rare supplies, or high-priority delivery orders without draining Sam’s stamina or worrying about tripping. The system runs entirely on chiral energy, so you don’t have to carry fuel or repair parts for it like you do for trucks or bikes.
It’s not completely without risks, though. The monorail’s connection to the chiral network makes it vulnerable to BT interference during heavy timefall or voidout storms, and you can get stranded mid-trip if you don’t check conditions before you depart. We’ll cover how to avoid those issues later in this guide.
How to Unlock the Ghost Monorail in 3 Simple Steps
You won’t get access to the Ghost Monorail until you reach the Central Region’s Edge Knot City distribution hub, after completing the main story mission "Chiral Relay Restoration". If you’re still working your way through the Eastern Region, you can skip this section for now, but it’s worth noting what you have to look forward to once you move further west. I missed the final unlock step on my first playthrough, so I spent two weeks wondering why the monorail terminals wouldn’t work, even after I dumped hundreds of chiral crystals into the relays. Don’t waste your time like I did.
- Activate all 6 chiral relay nodes along the western monorail corridor. Each node is marked with a faint blue chiral signature on your scanner, and you’ll need to donate 150 chiral crystals to each to power it up. You can collect these crystals from BT zones, voidout craters, or hidden deposits along hiking trails. It takes roughly 900 crystals total to power all relays, so start saving early.
- Complete the optional side mission for the Timefall Farmer. He’ll give you the Ghost Monorail activation key as a reward for delivering 10 units of heat-resistant wheat to his outpost without any damage. You can pick up this mission from the Edge Knot City distribution terminal, and it’s marked as a low-priority side quest, so it’s easy to miss if you’re only focusing on main story missions.
- Test the monorail at the nearest activation station. Interact with the terminal next to the first track segment just outside Edge Knot City, and the full monorail network will populate on your map for all future play sessions. You don’t have to unlock all segments at once, but unlocking the full network cuts travel time between Edge Knot City and Mountain Knot City by 70% according to my play tests.
If you’re playing with multiplayer enabled, you can use any monorail segments activated by other players in your session even if you haven’t powered the relays yourself. That’s a huge shortcut if you join a server with more experienced porters who’ve already put in the work to unlock the network.
Pro Tips for Using the Ghost Monorail Without Running Into Issues
Unlocking the monorail is only half the battle; you need to know how to use it effectively to get the most value out of it. I’ve tested every quirk of this system over dozens of delivery runs, so these tips will save you from losing cargo or getting stranded mid-trip.
Always check the monorail's interference level before loading your cargo. If the interference bar above the activation terminal is above 50%, there’s a high chance BTs will hijack the monorail mid-trip, dumping your cargo into a timefall zone. You can fix this easily by dropping a couple of chiral grenades near the terminal to clear the interference, which will drop the level to 0 for 30 minutes of in-game time, more than enough for even the longest monorail routes.
You can attach up to 4 extra cargo slings to the sides of the monorail car. Most players only use the main storage bay, but the side slings let you haul extra construction materials or delivery orders without stacking them precariously on top of each other. I’ve managed to haul 3 full delivery orders at once using these slings, cutting my work in half for runs along the monorail route.
If you’re hauling fragile cargo like medical supplies or rare electronics, you should turn off the monorail’s speed boost, even if it adds 10 minutes to your trip. The speed boost makes the car rattle, and there’s a 30% chance fragile cargo will get damaged if you use it for long stretches. It’s not worth the time saved if you end up failing a high-priority delivery.
You can pause the monorail mid-trip to collect hidden chiral crystals along the track. There are over 20 hidden crystal deposits right next to the monorail tracks that you can only reach if you stop the car, no hiking required. I found enough crystals in one 20-minute trip to power three full new zipline networks, so it’s worth the extra stop if you’re low on supplies.
Pros and Cons of Relying on the Ghost Monorail for Deliveries
The Ghost Monorail is an incredible tool, but it’s not the right choice for every delivery. I still use trucks and ziplines for plenty of runs, and I never got rid of my upgraded bike even after I unlocked the full monorail network. Here’s what you need to know before you make it your primary transport method.
The biggest pros are hard to ignore. First, there’s no stamina cost, so you don’t have to worry about Sam getting tired or tripping over rough terrain mid-run. Second, the monorail’s chassis has a built-in timefall shield, so your cargo won’t take any weather damage while you’re on the car, even during heavy timefall storms. Third, as we mentioned earlier, you can share activated monorail segments with other players in your multiplayer server, so you don’t have to unlock all relays yourself if a fellow porter already did the work.
There are also some notable downsides, though. First, it only runs on fixed tracks, so you can’t use it to reach remote outposts that are off the monorail route. You’ll still need to use ziplines, trucks, or your trusty legs to get to outposts that are more than a kilometer away from the nearest monorail stop, so don’t sell all your other transport gear once you unlock the monorail. Second, if the network is interfered with, you can get stranded mid-trip with no way to call for a rescue vehicle unless you brought a portable chiral ladder with you. The monorail doesn't work during high intensity voidout storms, so you'll have to switch to other transport methods during those events. I once tried to run the monorail during a voidout storm just to test it, and I lost 8 high-priority medical deliveries, so don’t make that mistake.
The Death Stranding 2 Ghost Monorail is one of the most useful hidden features in the game, and it makes even the longest, most dangerous delivery runs feel trivial once you know how to unlock and use it properly. You don’t have to rush to unlock it right when you reach the Central Region, but it’s worth taking the time to activate all the relays as soon as you can spare the chiral crystals. If you’ve already tested the monorail, drop your favorite trick for using it in the comments below.
