Monorail officials say progress is being made toward reopening

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

The Las Vegas Monorail continues to make progress toward reopening, although executives have yet to pin down when the $650 million system will carry paying passengers again, a spokesman for the company said Monday.

Test runs of the trains along the four-mile route from the MGM Grand to the Sahara hotel have been stepped up, as engineers from Bombardier Inc., the Canadian firm that built and operates the trains, and Exponent, the third-party oversight firm brought in to inspect the system, review potential flaws, Todd Walker, a spokesman for the monorail, said.

Walker said he did not know when a county-ordered testing period that would "recommission" the trains for service would begin.

In the meantime, monorail officials continue to update the county Building Division, which has oversight over the system's safety, on their progress, Walker said.

The trains have been closed since Sept. 8, when a washer, 6 inches in diameter, fell from a moving train near the Bally's/Paris platform. It is the second long-term closure since the trains opened for public service July 15, after a string of glitches pushed back the opening date more than six months. The first closure, which occurred less than a week before the washer fell off, was prompted by a 60-pound wheel assembly's fall from a moving train. That closure lasted six days.

Monorail officials have previously estimated the system loses $85,000 in ticket sales each day, which would equate to more than $7.5 million in losses to date.

Walker said the problems appear to have stemmed the system's drive-trains, but he would not elaborate.