End of the Line for Las Vegas Monorail
Posted on: April 5, 2024, 12:52h.
Last updated on: August 31, 2024, 05:35h.
When news broke in late 2020 that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) had purchased the Las Vegas Monorail Co. out of bankruptcy, fans of the once-futuristic tram system saw it as a lifeline.
It was really a death warrant.
What most people don’t realize is that the LVCVA’s plans included an $11 million fee for dismantling the monorail, perhaps as early as 2028, but definitely by 2030.
Last Stop Coming Up
The problem is that operating the monorail, for which the LVCVA pays a Los Gatos, Calif. company up to $500K annually, has become like driving a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider. Sooner or later, it will break down and require a replacement part that can’t be obtained because it’s not manufactured anymore.
And old monorail parts aren’t the kind of things that get listed on eBay.
The monorail employs nine Innovia 200 trams, each with four cars, which its four-mile track was custom-designed to fit. Those trams were only manufactured by Bombardier out of Quebec, which no longer makes them. In fact, after racking up billions of dollars of debt, it no longer makes trams at all. Bombardier sold its rail business for $6.7 billion to French competitor Alstom in 2021.
Alstom only manufactures a newer model, the Innovia 300, whose beam width of 27.2 inches renders it incompatible with the 26-inch older model.
For a while, monorail executives reportedly rooted for Disney World to upgrade its Mark VI trams so they could buy the retired stock. (The first monorail tracks to operate in Vegas, connecting the MGM Grand and Bally’s from 1995 to 2002, used two retired Disney World Mark IVs.)
However, the Mouse House is in the same no-win situation as Las Vegas. It can buy an all-new monorail system but would need to construct all-new tracks. It’s not impossible for a company to develop a new monorail to fit the existing one’s tracks but nobody is rushing to step up to that very niche plate.
Off the Rails
The Las Vegas monorail began when the original MGM Grand-to-Bally’s system expanded to include seven more stops along the resort corridor in 2003.
It has never made a profit — but it was never designed to — since it was considered a public service. Though no public money was used in its $650 million construction ($1.12 billion today), Nevada did provide the project with the largest investment of state-issued bonds in the state’s history.
Other than its latest bankruptcy, which was its second, another hint that something wasn’t right was the relatively small price paid by the LVCVA, $24.3 million, for a system that cost so much to build.
A third hint is the deafening silence surrounding the monorail’s plans for a Mandalay Bay/Allegiant Stadium extension and a stop at MSG Sphere. Both were approved by Clark County in 2018 and expected to open by 2021.
The monorail even announced, in October 2019, that it had secured $33.5 million in financing from Dallas-based Preston Hollow Capital for the expansion.
The completion of this initial financing is an important and necessary step in our expansion strategy for this system, which already provides substantial mobility benefits along our busy resort corridor,” Las Vegas Monorail Co. CEO Curtis Myles said in a statement at the time.
“With two new stations, we will multiply those benefits for our customers, resort partners, sponsors, and our community.”
Neither station gets mentioned anymore by the LVCVA.
Crazy Train
So why would the LVCVA purchase an old transportation system that they knew was doomed?
Because the monorail had a noncompete clause that prohibited any other company from building another off-street transportation system for the Strip.
And the LVCVA had already signed, in 2019, a $48 million contract with Elon Musk’s The Boring Company to build the Vegas Loop, which would probably have violated the monorail’s noncompete clause.
Monorail tickets cost $5.50 for a one-way ride, $13.45 for an unlimited 24-hour pass, and $57.50 for a seven-day pass via the system’s website. Monorail trains arrive every four to eight minutes.
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Last Comments ( 91 )
It could have worked if it went to airport and by extension to downtown and future expansion to train station and if it were used as a foundation to build subway/tram line but as is it is sort of pointless.
Yup. As alomst everyone has pointed out the obvious, it should have gone to the airport at least. Also Fremont and NASCAR. I moved to Vegas in '93. It would have been relatively easy to make it a practical alternative to the very poor taxi system. Still not too late. Just more expensive now. C'mon guys. We KNOW you have the $$!
My wife and i use the monorail every time we go to Las Vegas. The best part of it is the stop at the Westgate, which, in my opinion, is has the best sports book of any casino adjacent to the monorail. We found out that it is faster to walk from Treasure Island to Rainforest Case (south of Paris) than to use the rail and walk through two casinos. The Biden Administration should offer Infrastructure Act bucks to rebuild the whole thing, including stations at the Raiders home and the A's future home. Appease the taxis by prohibiting stations for Airport and Fremont Street. And for goodness sake, lower the fare prices. For the record, I have no ownership in TI, Westgate,or Rainforest Cafe!
I love the monorail, so easy to get from one hotel to the next. Wish it connected to the airport too.
The power corrupt and money hungry Robert Moses of Vegas is going to make millions. The monorail should be what Elon Musk is doing with the Boring tesla loop, going from airport to every casino.
I moved here from Manhattan 16 years ago. From day one I’ve heard nothing but sob stories about the Monorail system here in Las Vegas. Knowing that it would never make a profit I find chilling. That said, I think if they cut the ticket prices in half, perhaps more people would use it. The way it is positioned along the Strip, makes no sense to me at all. If an investor wanted to come in and extend it to the airport, it would begin catch on. I would certainly use it, as would most of my friends.
I use the monorail all the time. Locals only $1 one way. I park at Sahara or Westgate, free parking, and then go see a Knights or Raiders game. It's more time sure, but it works. And I was planning to do the same for the A's.
This is sad news but unsurprising given the stubborn (read: stupid) politics from the monolithic taxi lobby that eventually lost to rideshare anyway. Fortunately no tax payer dollars were ever used in the construction of the Monorail. Now that LVCVA has the Boring Company underground I'm sure that will be the focus of the future.
Sorry, but this a horribly written article. This really isn’t meant to troll anyone but it’s well past time to insist on better writing for online content. If the main point of this article is intended to be that the monorail will soon be closed (as the headline suggests), that was not actually stated though the caption of one photo stated it is “due to be decommissioned within four to six years”. Who says so? Shouldn’t that source be included in the article? But then there’s mention on the “third hint”. The first and second hints were never mentioned nor what was being hinted at. That’s a lot of writing in circles and getting nowhere. Please God, bring back actual capable editors. It should not be difficult to state a hypothesis and then support it with facts. Or, if it’s appropriate, start at the beginning of a story and end at the end of it. It’s not too much to ask. It’s great that pocketable screens have democratized writing, but it also seems to have increased the volume of writing that’s not worth reading.
Contact Alstrom who bought out Bombardier, I am sure they can referb the old trains it's been done with other models before this is nothing new.
It needs to go where the people go in large numbers. Airport, Allegiant, T-Mobile, New baseball stadium, entire length of the strip.
Slowly las vegas is shooting themselves in the foot..honestly we all know tropicana was dying out but the best thing they're going to replace it with is a baseball stadium oh that's nice thats exactly why I will go to Vegas to watch baseball..not really. Now they want to take out the monorail ...I go to Vegas every year and every year I buy a 7 day pass for myself and my wife...with that gone gonna have have to figure something else out or just avoid the long stays if any..its becoming less attractive to go I'll just go somewhere else.
Like some have mentioned here, the monorail was a joke from the beginning... only operates behind casinos on East of Strip, doesn't go to airport or Fremont Street and takes forever to get to/from it thru casinos. The right thing to do is make Musk even more wealthy than he is now... tunnel from airport directly under the strip all the way to Fremont(light rail to speedway). Make an underground route to Alegient as a spur, with stops(ADA complient) at the major hotels and/or intersections. DONE
As an Engineer and Designer, I would like to see the Strip hotels "turned around" for primary vehicle access (Rideshare, taxis, limos, buses etc.) facing toward the hotel "rear" East and West respectively and utilize a minimal traffic light, one way or dual loop configuration. Eliminate vehicle access altogether on the Las Vegas Blvd. Due to overburdening traffic, it is now obsolete and way too busy. I would then put a light rail system, monorail, or people mover system all along the entire 9 mile stretch of Las Vegas Blvd starting from Sunset or Warm Springs all the way through Downtown's Casino Center Drive ... and extend it further to the north Motor Speedway and perhaps Reid (given city approval) at a later time.
Vegas Loop will buy it