Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Accident interrupts monorail testing

Drive shaft disconnects, falls 15 feet to ground

A $627 million monorail set to start whisking tourists and locals along the Strip in March had an accident Jan. 5 that required a three-day shutdown of testing, an official with the project said Tuesday.

The accident occurred when an approximately 18-inch drive shaft on one of the monorail cars disconnected at both ends and fell about 15 feet to the ground, said Cam Walker, president of Transit Systems Management, the company overseeing construction and operation of the monorail.

The monorail cars did not leave the track in the incident, he said.

After the accident, every drive shaft was removed and tested by the Bombardier Transit Corp., which is building the monorail vehicles and which will operate the system, Walker said.

"It was very unfortunate, but we're very pleased no one was hurt," he said.

"It happened in a controlled area as part of testing of the system," Walker said. "We believe this is an isolated event in the fabrication of the drive shaft."

The drive shafts on the monorail system have now been tethered to the vehicles to ensure that no pieces can come loose and fall in the unlikely event another accident occurs, he said.

The monorail testing, which has been under way for about six months, is intended to find and fix any problems, Walker said.

Clark County officials were notified immediately after the accident, which occurred at the monorail's's MGM Grand station, an area closed off to the public until the system opens later this year, he said.

"We grounded the fleet," Walker said. "We removed every drive shaft and ... tested the strength of the steel."

The drive shaft had a flaw that caused it to break loose from the axle where it was connected, he said.

Bombardier is conducting further tests, he said.