Las Vegas Monorail will be turning 12 years old in July, 2016. The monorail system has had its share of growing pains over the years, but it did provide me with transportation on a recent trip to Las Vegas from the Convention Center to the Quad Hotel. The Las Vegas Monorail project was constructed by Bombardier Transportation, the same company that is currently rolling out its C Series regional jets. It was built as an extension to the existing monorail line that operated between the MGM Grand and Bally’s Hotels. The monorail suffered many malfunctions while in its testing phase that delayed the start of passenger service for about a year. These malfunctions included parts falling from the monorail tracks to the ground. The Las Vegas Monorail finally opened to the public on July 15, 2004. The system did experience a couple of shutdowns during its first year of operations, including one that lasted almost four months when parts began falling from the tracks again. One year after service began, Transit Systems Management announced that it would shut down its operations, turning responsibility for operations to the Las Vegas Monorail Company.
Las Vegas Monorail Bankruptcy and Expansion Plans
On January 13, 2010, the Las Vegas Monorail filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. The filing stated that the Monorail had been operating since 2004 using proceeds from its initial financing and debt service reserves. These funds have now been fully depleted, which made it necessary to file for re-orginization. According to the court petition, Las Vegas Monorail has between $10 million and $50 million of assets, and between $500 million and $1 billion of debts. The Las Vegas Monorail Company successfully emerged from bankruptcy protection in November of 2012, with its debt load slashed down to just$13 million.
A feasibility study for a planned expansion of the monorail to the McCarran Airport was approved back in November of 2005. This extension was officially approved in December of 2006 by Clark County commissioners, providing that the financing would come from private funding. However, funding for the project never materialized. The monorail company most recently proposed in May of 2015 that the monorail be extended to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, with an additional station being added at the Sands Expo & Convention Center across the street from the Wynn Las Vegas.
Image from www.lvmonorail.com