Editorial: Monorail headaches

Friday, Sept. 10, 2004 | 6:04 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

September 11 - 12, 2004

On Wednesday the Las Vegas Monorail was shut down -- again. This time operations were halted indefinitely after an industrial-strength washer fell from the monorail. The closure is the second in just a little more than a week. The first stoppage, lasting six days, happened after a 60-pound tire assembly fell from a train. And don't forget that on Aug. 16 a monorail employee accidentally opened a set of doors on the wrong side of a train -- facing a 25-foot drop -- while passengers were on board. Fortunately in all of these incidents no one was hurt, but they still are disturbing, especially since the monorail has only been operating since mid-July. The monorail's troubles didn't just start then, however. Its opening was delayed more than six months because of a number of glitches that the manufacturer, Canadian-based Bombardier Transportation, had difficul ty fixing.

Inspectors from the Clark County Building Division are continuing to investigate what has gone wrong. It's critical that county government presses forward with a tough, thorough investigation so that the public knows exactly why all these problems have been vexing the monorail. The public's safety, and the future of the monorail, depend on it.