Thursday, Sept. 9, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.
County inspectors Wednesday afternoon were looking into whether an industrial-strength washer that fell from the Las Vegas Monorail on Wednesday and prompted the system's second extended closure in one week may be related to a glitch that caused a drive shaft to fall from a train in January, a county building official said.
The monorail will be closed until investigators determine what caused the problem and are satisfied that it has been fixed; that is expected to take at least several days, the county official said.
The latest closure was prompted by a six-inch washer, used to secure the drive shaft to the train. The washer fell from the train about 10 a.m. Wednesday near the Bally's/Paris platform. The two-pound piece of metal hardware touched a track before landing, causing a spark that left a small part of the elevated track scorched Wednesday afternoon, Todd Walker, a spokesman for the monorail, said.
The train was able to continue to the MGM Grand station, where passengers had to disembark, Walker said. No property damage or injuries were reported, he said.
This most recent closure came barely a day after the $650 million monorail system re-opened following a six-day closure. That closure was prompted by a 60-pound tire assembly's fall from the train. Investigators this week determined the tire assembly had been improperly installed by the manufacturer, Canada-based Bombardier Transportation, Walker said Tuesday.
"Something has happened twice in the same week," he said. "Either one is unacceptable."
The two incidents appear to be unrelated but inspectors from the County Building Division, which oversees the monorail, are looking into whether Wednesday's failure may be related to a January incident in which a drive shaft fell from the train while it was still in its testing phase, Ron Lynn, Clark County Building Official, said.
The washer was part of a phalange system used to secure the drive shaft. A bolt held in place by the washer also broke but the phalange kept the drive shaft from falling again, he said.
Engineers are expected to carefuly scrutinize each train's undercarriage to determine whether the failure was caused by faulty parts used to secure the drive shaft or an inherent design flaw within the system. The process will likely take several days, Lynn said.
The assemblies, which require periodic replacement, were supposed to require annual testing, Lynn said.
"These types of assemblies you would expect to be replaceable but you wouldn't expect it to happen this quick," he said. "We're going to go through the entire undercarriage. It's not a tomorrow issue by any means."
The closure left scores of would-be passengers like Seattle couple Fawzi and Cindy Khoury perplexed as to why the system, touted as a low-cost alternative to taxis, was suddenly out of commission.
The Khourys, who tried to board at the Bally's entrance, said they were particularly interested in riding the Las Vegas monorail after following controversies in their hometown stemming from a proposed 14-mile extension to the Seattle monorail.
That city's monorail will likely be operated by Bombardier rival Cascadia Monorail Co., the sole bidder after Bombardier failed to bid by a deadline set by the city, according to The Seattle Times.
"We were anxious to see it," Fawzi Khoury said. "We were just curious. It's pretty controversial (in Seattle)."
Relations had grown strained between Transit System Management, the company that runs the privately funded monorail, and Bombardier after monorail officials claimed monorail operators missed warnings leading up to last week's failure and threatened disciplinary action against Bombardier.
Also, a Bombardier employee was suspended Aug. 16 after he mistakenly opened a set of doors facing a 25-foot drop while passengers were on board. The passengers inside were transferred to another car while it was inspected.
Kathryn Nickerson, a spokeswoman for Bombardier, said the company's CEO had contacted Jim Gibson, CEO of the Las Vegas Monorail Co. and mayor of Henderson, on Wednesday to discuss the breakdowns.
Nickerson will also join the teams coming in from Montreal and Pittsburgh, she said.
"We are cooperating fully with the Las Vegas Monorail Company," she said. "I feel we have always had a great relationship but we do regret the inconvenience to our passengers."
When confused tourists are turned away from the monorail, John Morrison is often their first stop for information. Morrison operates a kiosk near the monorail entrance for Hilton Grand Vacations, which operates a timeshare complex near the monorail line, and has openly criticized the system since it opened earlier this summer.
"I haven't heard enough good news to put our faith and trust in a product that's not even American," Morrison said of the Canadian-built trains. "I don't want to hear the good things beause there are no good things. It's not worth it."
The monorail is unlikely to face any fines levied by the county, as it does not appear company managers attempted to cover up the flaws, Lynn said. The trains will, however, be subject to daily inspections after the system reopens until engineers are confident the trains are safe.
Transit System Management will be billed $75 an hour for each engineer who inspects the trains, Lynn had said.
When the monorail is closed, the estimated loss to the Las Vegas Monorail Co. is $85,000 per day.
This week's closure is the latest in a string of glitches that have continued since the system opened July 15, after problems during testing pushed the opening back more than six months.
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