Las Vegas Monorail

History

The Las Vegas Monorail project was built by Bombardier Transportation upon an existing free monorail that ran between the MGM Grand and Bally's, closing a long gap in the Strip that tourists usually had to travel on foot.

During testing and commissioning, the monorail suffered several malfunctions that delayed the start of passenger service for almost a year. The most serious of these problems related to parts falling from the monorail to the ground under the tracks. After many delays, the finished Las Vegas Monorail opened to the public on July 15, 2004 with the completion and testing of "Phase 1."

On September 8, 2004, more problems with falling parts led to the closing of the monorail for nearly four months. It reopened on December 24, 2004. A number of repairs were made to the monorail cars during this shutdown. Each time the monorail system required major engineering changes, it underwent a lengthy "commissioning" process to confirm the effectiveness and safety of the repairs. Officials reported that each day the monorail was down cost the system approximately $85,000 in lost fares.

Transit Systems Management officials cited the successful handling of crowds during the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show as proof that the system can handle a major convention.

On February 2, 2005, the monorail system was shut down due to problems with the electrical system. Reportedly, a short circuit required replacement of a 30-foot (9.1 m) section of the power rail. The system reopened about 12 hours later.

In July 2005, a record was set for ridership for the monorail, with over one million passengers. BankWest debuted a red "MoneyRail" branded train, and joined Nextel Communications (now a part of Sprint Nextel Corporation), Hansens Beverage, and Paramount Studios (with a Star Trek themed train) as corporate sponsors.

On July 8, 2005, Transit Systems Management announced that it would shut down, turning over its responsibilities to the Las Vegas Monorail Company, the system operator. Curtis Myles, a former deputy general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, became President of the Las Vegas Monorail Company. He assumed his duties on July 18, 2005.

Expansion plans took a step forward on November 1, 2005, when the County Commission approved a study into the feasibility of an airport extension.

On June 6, 2006, the Las Vegas Monorail Corporation announced that monorail revenues rose nearly 16% from the previous year, to $3,250,565 in April 2006. Likewise, ridership had also increased, from 563,823 riders in January 2006 to 704,527 in April 2006. New ticket distribution and marketing efforts had been implemented to continue the trend, including a ticket brokerage program that provided convention attendees with monorail tickets in advance and a national public relations program.

On January 13, 2010, the Las Vegas Monorail filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing will not affect system operations and will have no impact on the monorail’s hours of operation or service to its customers.

On March 11, 2011, the Sahara Hotel and Casino announced that it would close its doors May 16, 2011. Closure of the Sahara has been cited as one of the significant reasons for ridership dropping in 2012. In 2014, a new hotel casino, the SLS Las Vegas took over the Sahara, and ridership increased from 2012 levels.

Operations

The monorail (Phase 1 of the overall project) begins at the MGM Grand Hotel near the south end of The Strip, and runs roughly parallel to the Strip on its eastern side. The monorail passes next to the Convention Center and the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, both with stations, before ending at the former Sahara Hotel location at the north end of the Strip. The ride takes about fifteen minutes to travel its total distance of 3.9 miles (6.3 km).

The monorail generally runs behind the eastern Strip side hotels and casinos, a long block away from the Strip. Usually, it requires a walk through a casino to get to the Strip, emerging upon the Strip in front of the property. This lack of a direct presence on the Strip along with ticket prices has been a factor in the rather slow acceptance of the monorail.

System name and sponsorship

The Las Vegas Monorail was named the Robert N. Broadbent Las Vegas Monorail in honor of Robert N. Broadbent, whom Las Vegas officials credit with gaining the support from the public and officials needed to bring the monorail to fruition. Broadbent, a former Boulder City mayor, Clark County commissioner, assistant secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, and McCarran International Airport director, died in 2003, a few months before the system's scheduled opening. The Las Vegas Monorail Company is the company's official corporate name.

The Las Vegas Monorail used to be known as the MGM Grand-Bally's Monorail.

The Las Vegas Monorail generates revenue from ticketed passengers and from corporate sponsors. Branding rights for the seven stations and the nine trains are available, and the sponsorship prices are in the millions of dollars. Hansens Beverage sponsored the first monorail train, featuring its Monster Energy drink. Nextel Communications created a totally themed pavilion by branding the largest station, adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Since the Sprint-Nextel Merger in late 2005, Nextel Central has been rebranded as Sprint Central. However, in late February 2008, the Sprint Nextel Corporation terminated its sponsorship contract.

Construction and planning

The Las Vegas Monorail was designed by Gensler of Nevada, engineered by Las Vegas-based Carter & Burgess (now Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.) and constructed by Granite Construction, Inc. of Watsonville, California, one of the largest civil contractors in the United States.

The Las Vegas Monorail vehicles and signal systems were developed by Bombardier Transportation. The technology for the monorail vehicles came directly from the well-tested monorail systems running in Walt Disney World. Bombardier constructed Mark VI Monorail trains for the Walt Disney World Monorail System and for Las Vegas.

Stations

Stations listed from north to south:

Trains

The monorail uses nine Bombardier MVI trains that have four cars in each of the fully automatic trains. The guideway is built to the "ALWEG" track standard. For the first seven years, the line only ran as the MGM Shuttle, between MGM and Bally's stations. During this time, two ex-Walt Disney World Mark IV monorail trains were used. Though the Las Vegas and related train equipment appear superficially similar to the original ALWEG design (as exemplified by the Seattle system), their suspension and propulsion systems differ substantially. A Seattle train may be walked end-to-end which is impossible on a Las Vegas or Florida train. The ALWEG Mark VI system used in Las Vegas Monorail consists of two inline large truck tires per car that support the load over the concrete guideway with a rectangular cross section and eight guide tires that straddle the guideway from both sides. The total capacity of the four-car trains is roughly equivalent to two articulated buses at 80 seated and 160 standing passengers. The maximum speed is 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), although that speed is only reached during one short straight segment of the line.

All trains in the system have available advertising and branding opportunities. By selling advertising and branding rights for the trains, the system earns additional revenue.

Tickets

$5.00 Single Ride: Good for one person for one entry/ride.

$12.00 Unlimited Day Pass: Good for unlimited travel for one person for a consecutive 24-hour period during operational hours. The 24-hour clock begins and the expiration date and time are stamped on the ticket with first use at the fare gates.

$28.00 Unlimited Three-Day Pass: Good for unlimited travel for one person for a consecutive 72-hour period during operational hours. The 72-hour clock begins and the expiration date and time are stamped on the ticket with first use at the fare gates.

$1.00 Nevada Resident Discount Tickets: Available with the presentation of the rider's Nevada driver’s license, State of Nevada government-issued identification card or Nevada Sheriff Card. Limited to two single-ride tickets per person, per day, or one 20-ride ticket, no more frequently than every 10 days.

Hours of operation

7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Monday
7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Tuesday to Thursday
7:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Friday to Sunday

To Downtown Las Vegas

Phase 2, a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) long extension along Main Street to Downtown Las Vegas was planned, with new stations at the Stratosphere Hotel, Charleston Boulevard, Bonneville Avenue and Main Street Station. Construction was planned to begin in 2005 with service starting in 2008. However, the anticipated funding from the federal government was not allocated in 2004, so the plans were put on hold. On January 27, 2005, the federal government announced that it would not provide money for the $400 million project.

The plan was to open the system in January 2004, and for it to cover its debts and operating expenses by attracting 19 to 20 million riders. Since the system was not only delayed in opening, but later shut down for four months, income was not as great as organizers had hoped. This reportedly is a contributing factor for the government's denial of Phase 2 funding.

Southern extension

Phase 2 was revised to instead extend the monorail system in the opposite direction, south from the MGM Grand Station to McCarran International Airport. Providing monorail service to the airport has been an unpopular idea with limousine and taxicab operators in the city, as trips to and from the airport form a major portion of their business. Several hotel and casino owners on the Strip continue to support the project, and are more supportive of an extension to the airport than one to downtown Las Vegas.

On December 7, 2006, Clark County commissioners granted permission for the proposed extension to McCarran Airport. Funding had not yet been identified.

On September 9, 2008, the monorail company provided details of the proposed expansion to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors' Authority board members. The intended airport extension would begin at the new Terminal 3, with the first stop near Terminal 1, turn north on Swenson Street, then continue west on Tropicana Avenue before turning north at Koval Lane to meet up with the existing system behind the MGM Grand. This route was proposed to be built with private funds and would have added approximately four miles to the existing route, doubling the length of the system.

When the monorail company first announced details of the extension in September 2008, the airport extension was to be built with private funds and was expected to be built by 2012. However, as of March 2011, the Las Vegas Monorail Company was still in the planning phases of the proposed extension to McCarran International Airport with a proposed stop on the UNLV campus.

The monorail company announced in May 2015 that it is proposing instead an extension to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and an infill station at the Sands Expo & Convention Center. Subsequently, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada announced that a new underground light rail system under the Las Vegas Strip, which would connect Downtown Las Vegas with the airport, is in the long-term planning phase.

In November 2016, the Clark County Commission approved a proposed extension to Mandalay Bay, putting the monorail closer to a possible future football stadium.