Thursday, September 02, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

LV monorail shuts down in midst of trade show hubbub

The entrance to the Las Vegas Monorail's Convention Center station is blocked Wednesday after the rail line was shut down because of a mechanical failure. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

The Las Vegas Monorail took a pratfall on its biggest stage to date Wednesday when a tire fell from one of its trains, leading to a systemwide shutdown during one of the valley's largest annual conventions.

Monorail officials were waiting until today to decide when to reopen the 4.4-mile system, after getting a second opinion on why a 20-inch, 60-pound rubber tire broke off a train around 8 a.m.

Monorail officials say they doubt it's related to a January incident in which a drive shaft fell from one of its trains during testing.

"It appears these are isolated incidents," said Todd Walker, a monorail spokesman. "One of the reasons we have safety investigations is to reaffirm that. We want to ensure that this doesn't happen again, and it's not associated with anything that's taken place before."

The northbound train was between Flamingo Road and Sands Avenue at the time the tire fell, landing in an unoccupied parking spot in a lot owed by Harrah's. No one was hurt, monorail officials said.

The shutdown forced thousands of conventioneers to find alternate ways to and from the Men's Apparel Guild in California -- or MAGIC -- trade show, which ends today at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Conventions are expected to produce the monorail's core riders. Up to 40,000 daily riders were expected this week, and MAGIC was expecting 90,000 conventioneers in town.

"It's unfortunate timing that this incident happened at all, particularly during a major citywide trade show," said Terry Jicinsky, senior marketing vice president for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

"Hopefully, they'll be able to communicate that it's a new product, and with any new product there's growing pains," Jicinsky said. "Hopefully, it's a one-time episode."

There were two separate investigations into the incident: an initial assessment by the monorail's contracted operator, Montreal, Canada-based Bombardier Inc., and another inquiry by McLean, Va.-based monorail consultant Booz Allen Hamilton, Walker said.

The latter group was bringing in its own technicians to look at the train's mechanical systems and Bombardier's maintenance standards, Walker said.

"We want somebody else with different eyes, and outside of us and Bombardier, to take a look at it," Walker said.

The monorail wasn't the sole way for conventioneers to get around. Around 85 buses already were shuttling between hotels and the Convention Center, in addition to the usual mix of taxicabs and limousines.

Officials expected the other forms of transportation to absorb stranded monorail riders.

"The monorail was never meant to replace any of those," Jicinsky said. "It was meant to augment (existing transit)."

Spare buses were being pressed into service, an exact number of which was not immediately available.

"We don't anticipate it'll be a huge hassle. This is the first time the monorail was available," said Ernae Mothershed, a show spokeswoman. "We've held the show for 15 years without it."

Conventioneer Bill Nelson of Lakeland, Fla., said he had planned to take the train to the Convention Center that morning from a mid-Strip hotel.

"I was supposed to get it at Bally's," he said while waiting for a cab outside the center. "We stood around (that station) for 10 minutes. Then came an announcement that it was shutting down."

Mitch Clott, 43, of New York City was one of the last people to ride the train Wednesday. His train was headed toward the Convention Center when it was boarded by workers who asked riders to switch trains.

Clott wasn't sure how he'd get back to his hotel. "That's a good question," he said.

"I've been coming out here for years now, watching it (the monorail) gradually get built, wondering when I could ride it," Clott said. "Now, I come out here and it's done and I can't."

Saul Federman of Chicago had planned to ride the rail. "It really wasn't a big inconvenience to me," he said. "It would have been nice if it was up, though."

The shutdown was a surprise to Bernice Motola, 31, of Las Vegas, who usually parks outside the Sahara station before taking the line to her job at a Strip restaurant. "Shut up," she said after being told of the shutdown.

Until Wednesday, her commute had been problem-free. "My only problem is that it doesn't stay open late enough," she said.

The shutdown was the most serious setback for the $650 million monorail since it opened July 15. Last month, a monorail worker inadvertently opened a set of passenger doors that faced a steep drop-off from an elevated track to the street below. The worker was suspended.

Other issues were relatively minor: isolated reports of a broken elevator, a jammed train door and a train crippled by mechanical problems in the first few days of operations.

The system's launch was delayed from early 2004 because of a series of glitches with the system's driverless steering computers.

The monorail's builders, Bombardier and Granite Construction of Watsonville, Calif., were assessed more than $11 million in fines for missing a Jan. 20 deadline to have the system ready for public use.

Passengers holding monorail tickets can arrange for a refund by calling 699-8299.