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The Las Vegas Monorail is shown Monday, June 22, 2009. The Las Vegas Monorail Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010 but will continue to operate, company officials said.
Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 | 6:19 p.m.
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A federal bankruptcy judge in Las Vegas today allowed the Las Vegas Monorail to go about its normal business operations until Feb. 17, when a hearing will be held to determine whether its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing should proceed or be dismissed.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Markell approved the monorail's emergency motions to continue to pay employee salaries and benefits, honor ridership tickets that have already been issued, and go about other normal operations and maintenance schedules.
Today's hearing was prompted by the nonprofit monorail's filing last week of a bankruptcy petition to reorganize its debts. The monorail says it has enough money to continue operations but not to pay off bonds that were sold to construct the four-mile train that extends from the MGM Grand to the Sahara hotel.
The monorail stated in its bankruptcy filing that it has debt that ranges from $500 million to $1 billion.
Ambac Assurance Corp. of Wisconsin, which insured $450 million of the state-issued construction bonds, says it will be on the hook for more than $1.1 billion if the monorail makes no more payments to retire the bonds. Both Ambac and Wells Fargo Bank, which is one of the banks used by the monorail, have sought to dismiss the bankruptcy case.
All the problems this line has could be SOLVED if they just connect it to the airport! Taxi companies be damned!
Throwing good money after bad is a waste of good money. Spending billions of dollars for that airport connector is a waste of money.
If they want to build something a little more sensible and cost effective put in light rail from the airport to the strip.
Planetearthcalling :
It's called TURNING bad money into GOOD money. Have you ever been to Disneyland? That monorail from the hotel to the park is a major attraction. Think how many people move through McCarran each day. Think now if you were a visitor and wanted a quick "sky" tour of the strip and hotels, would you prefer a smelly taxicab? This monorail is a good thing, it just needs some tweaking is all.
I totally agree. If they would have built it from the airport to The Strip a lot more people would actually use it. Or even connect to to downtown as well.
Building it behind the hotels on one side of the strip really handicaps it. Those long walks turn off most people. If it had been built down the center of the strip, it would have had a much better chance.
The monorail was flawed in many dimensions - not going to the airport, no dynamic train length (going from 4 to 8 cabs during CES, MAGIC, and other conventions that bring in 100,000 people to the LVCC), long walks, etc.
I've taken the monorail during CES and it was still preferable to the long cab lines even with the walking. But outside of heavy ridership 3-4 times per year during those conventions, it would be better to have heavy ridership all the time by going to the airport.
I don't understand why people make a big deal about luggage on the monorail - people usually don't bring lots of heavy suitcases for vacation. If they're here for 3-4 days one large suitcase per person should work. You can roll it on the monorail and just stand next to it the entire time.
I have not returned to Vegas since the monorail was built. I am planning a vacation there soon and one of the "must do" items is to ride the monorail.
I am surprised it does not go to the airport! With all the tourism in Vegas, running from the airport to the hotels seems like an obvious need. I have heard from friends the traffic has become some of the worst in the country. And, with a bunch of tourists driving, gawking, and getting lost, I imagine it would be.
It's your monorail but I think a run out to the airport makes a whole lot of sense. I certainly would use it rather than drive or take a cab in traffic.