Monorail riders keep their cool

Heather Rawlyk

Monday, July 26, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

Despite a couple of glitches last week, the Las Vegas Monorail appeared to be running smoothly Sunday afternoon, with passengers confident they'd reach their destinations without delay.

The monorail platform at the Las Vegas Hilton was bustling at 5 p.m. with people eager to escape into the air-conditioned cars and take a break from lengthy walks down the Strip.

Passengers riding southbound said they were not concerned about the minor glitches the monorail has encountered since its opening July 15.

One of the monorail's cars broke down Thursday night, leaving its would-be passengers stranded at the Sahara station looking for another mode of transportation.

Riders were also left stranded at the MGM Grand station for about 10 minutes Wednesday night after the monorail's automated doors would not open.

But Michael and Nancy McQuillan of Washington said they had been riding the monorail "all weekend" and had not experienced any problems.

"It's been great," Nancy McQuillan said. "We've just been able to sit right down and enjoy a ride in the air-conditioning, and then get right off with no problem at all.

"It's so much better than having to walk or take a taxi," she said. "A lot cheaper, too."

Michael McQuillan said he had heard about the monorail's minor glitches but that wouldn't stop him from "catching a ride."

"I'll take the risk of having to wait 10 minutes or get stranded at another hotel," he said. "It seems unlikely it'll happen, and I'll risk it to get out of walking that Strip all day.

"You can lose half your vacation to walking back and forth from hotel to hotel here."

Leena Yuzon of Phoenix said glitches are to be expected with any monorail, especially one that just opened two weeks ago.

"It's just like anything that is new, and I'm sure they just have to figure little things out," Yuzon said. "I'm not worried, but yesterday there was a pause when we stopped, and I thought 'uh oh,' but the doors opened right after that.

"I'm just excited it's finally here," she said. "I kept hearing it was coming, but didn't think I'd ever see it. This is my second time (on the monorail) since yesterday."

Rob Guillod of Dallas said that other than his fear of heights, he has no qualms about riding the monorail.

"There's really no reason to be scared," he said.