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Las Vegas Monorail Finally Ready To Open
doormat writes "The Las Vegas monorail is finally set to open to the public on July 15th! The project has had some problems - it was originally scheduled to open in March. The first part of the monorail, which uses Bombardier M-VI train vehicles, 'a derivative of the famous Walt Disney World Mark VI trains', is 4 miles long and connects several casinos on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip (see map, QT video), as well as the Las Vegas Convention Center (Home to CES, NAB, Networld+Interop and what was Comdex). Future phases seek to expand the monorail to downtown to the North, the west side of the strip, and eventually the University and the airport (which the taxicab and limo groups fight tooth and nail). I swear it's the strip's only choice... throw up your hands and raise your voice! Monorail, Monorail, Monorail! Mono... D'oh!"
I've always wondered why the US hasn't built up their mass transit abilities on the national level. We have subways in various towns but none of them link together and we don't have any of the long rail lines like they do in Germany or Japan. I also feel safe in saying the rail road is pretty shitty in compairson to other countries. I wonder if this is because as Americans we demand the right and excuse to use cars or if we have no other option right now.
Much like BART had all kinds of computer problems when it first went online. These things were not totally unanticipated. This is "new" tech, in the sense that Las Vegas Monorail will be the first mass-transit application of "driverless" rail systems anywhere in the United States (BART comes close, but somebody still pushes the "close door" button).
Yes, it's "old" 70's (well, really, 50's, as it differs very little from the original Alweg designs that run on Seattle and Anaheim trackage) technology. However, buses are, what, 30's technology? Light rail vehicles, also, are nothing more than the modern version of the 1910's streetcars.
In transit systems, very little changes.. because it dosen't have to. The fundamental job of getting people from one place to another across town is a simple one: it dosen't need maglev. The physics of rubber tires on a concrete "roadway" are well understood. Construction techniques required to build the Las Vegas Monorail are essentially no different than what was needed to build I-215: once you know how to pour concrete, it doesn't matter if you're building a highway for cars or a guideway for a monorail.
Personally, I can't wait. Monorail technology is a good transit solution: clean and quiet, with the potential to be cheap and easily maintained. Hopefully, Las Vegas Monorail will prove out as good as the monorail enthusiasts (like myself) have been saying it will.
When I went to Florida, I had to catch a plane from Orlando airport, so I caught a bus to 'airport boulevard' - having been told it was near the airport. It was in the middle of nowhere and there was no chance of hailing a cab (even if as a poor student, I could have afforded one), so I walked for 90 minutes in the midday sun until I got to my flight - with 15 minutes to spare.
I had been told I was on the right bus, but there didn't seem to be a bus stop in the entire airport. I was completely incredulous. Is this the reason why?
So much for the free market and consumer choice.
Like most public transportation projects I've been on, this one is pretty useless. You can't go from the airport to the hotel...what's the point? The system is similarly useless to anyone who actually *lives* in Vegas. Los Angeles authorities thought it would be a good idea to build some trains...they don't go anywhere that you'd ever want to go. It doesn't connect to the airport because the taxicab union lobbied against it. The Houston rail "system" is similarly pointless. Atlanta's isn't bad, mostly because union opposition was overcome and it actually connects to the airport.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Yeah, I'm thinking about moving the .mov file. :)
Apache::Gallery does caching, so really my box isn't doing too bad. Its all about the B/W though, but my webserver is configured as QBSS queuing on the link -- it should be the 'last' packets out on the pipe.
-- dieman - Scott Dier
I think it goes to show that when you think of this kind of rapid transit system, don't think "bus fare," which is usually cheaper. It may also be because these systems are not subsidized by local or state authorities, forcing them to charge higher fare. (though I'm not sure if this is true in either of these cases)
On BART, the "driver" does nothing more than push a "close door" button. They are not in control of the train, except when the automation system fails (which when I worked there in the 80's was "often"). However, part of BART's design was to have a 100% automated system. The "driver" is there solely because of a concession to the transit operator's unions. 99% of the time, the BART operator is just passively sitting in his chair.. bored out of his tiny little mind.
SFO Airport SkyTrain is not, technically, a "mass transit" system, it is an airport peoplemover. Many airport peoplemovers are "driverless", including Denver's. I was speaking strictly of mass transit systems.
Docklands Light Rail isn't in the US. At least, last time I checked England was still part of the United Kingdom. Has something changed?
Dunno. Considering that BART was the first fully automated passenger rail system in the world, I guess Europe is stll learning from the US.
"Driverless" is an important test concept on the Las Vegas Monorail not because it couldn't "theoretically" be done in the US (many systems, like SF-MUNI, BART, the Chicago "El", and the LA Metro Red Line are fully or partially automated). Questions of liability prevent many systems from operating "driverless." Concerns of organized labor (this was BART's problem) prevented other systems from running "driverless."
The technology has existed for 30 years (see BART). Because LV Monorail was largely privately funded, they got to dictate terms a lot more than a lot of transit agencies get to.
Responses to several comments here:
Monorail "track" is a lot more expensive to build per foot than light rail. That's the main reason Disney hasn't built any new monorail for a while, even when they moved all the parking a couple blocks away from the Anaheim park entrance.
There's no good way to evacuate an elevated monorail train in an emergency. Somewhere on the net I've read a copy of the procedures for the WDW monorail, which involves helping passengers slide down the curved windshield so they can walk along the beam to the nearest station. Yeah, right.
Say all you want about the lightrail system Los Angeles built. Fact is, it's far more popular than ever anticipated. Yeah, it goes through some pretty scary neighborhoods. But the point is to make it possible for people who live there to get into downtown where the jobs are. It's worked pretty well. And the Metrolink extensions do take some of the commuter burden off the Orange County to LA freeways.
Does anyone know if a monorail actually has any advantages over regular two rail operation and under what situations?
Tim
Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
Not exactly a rail system, but the PRT that services WVU in Morgantown, WV., has been running for about 30 years now. Driverless, electrically driven cars with rubber tires on a concrete track, powered from a 3rd rail. The tracks are steam-heated in winter. It was a pork-barrel Rockefeller project from day one, and most likely sucks up great piles of federal funds to this day. Being prone to breakdowns, the University still had to keep buses & drivers on constant standby to shuttle students between the two spread-out campuses.
I remember news stories when I was attending college there in the late 70's about how stray dogs would occasionaly manage to get onto the track. The PRT cars, being computer controlled, would soon overtake and squish the pooches without even slowing down, while the passengers watched the whole thing, unable to do anything about it.
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First let me start of by saying, I love the idea of public transportation, and that this was a great *idea* Unfortunately this light rail line is wrought with major problems in its implementation.
-First of all, the tracks are laid right into the street. Not only has it been causing massive traffic congestion but often times the train itself has to wait for traffic lights! They should have elevated it or buried it.
-Stations: There are WAY too many stations. Obviously there was some lobbying going on by the downtown businesses because there is a freaking stop every 2 blocks!! It is literally faster to walk. The NYC subway stops are a more sensible 10 blocks or more away from each other for the most part.
-Furthermore, most of these stations are OUTDOORS with NO ENCLOSED SPACE. Let me remind you this is a state with 6 months of winter, and subzero temperatures are very common. And none of them match up with the skyway system here (an excellent way to get around in the winter btw).
-It doesn't connect to anything important...yet. They are working on the connections to the airport and the Mall of America, but those will not be done until Dec. 04.
That 96000 total is extremely deceptive in that after the weekend when it was no longer FREE, the attendance dropped like a rock. The peak attendance on these trains was something like 14 people at a time. On a monday morning during rush hour. Not suprising considering how inefficient they are. The bus system is much the same here.
My hope is that they take this stretch of the line as a lesson in what not to do, and instead try to model it off of other major cities with successful public transit.
The sending of this message pretty much inconveniences everyone involved.
The state of minnesota spent $100 million on capitol costs. The *rest* of the funding was provided by the federal government.
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http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4826639.
Now the operating costs are far differen't -- I'll admit.
It wasn't money avaliable for a stadium or other costs.
We have insufficient highway infrastructure. Take a look at highway 252 sometime. Anoka County has one of the worst commutes in the nation and the region.
-- dieman - Scott Dier
Fuck the taxis... the limos.... bring on mass transit...What's the Problem? Oh no you have competition? Let people make their own decision about how they can best get to their destination.
Mass Transit cannot and will not solve all transportation problems. On the other hand it will allow visitors and locals to have a choice of transportation.
Again if your business can't survive a tech revolution... your business is not fit to survive..... simple as that.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Though it is not entirely new in North America: Vancouver's (British Columbia) SkyTrain system uses similar Bombardier technology and is the backbone of their transit system. Also, in New York City, both Newark and Kennedy airports (small towns in themselves) have Bombardier systems connecting the terminals to each other and to regional rail networks a few miles away from the airports.