Not to worry, says Las Vegas Monorail spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman: "We have a company who monitors all of our guideways, and all of our columns and beams, because these are large, concrete structures. They’re all superficial cracks [that you saw] but we continue to monitor them, just like we perform regular maintenance on our trains and the rest of our structure."
So, rest assured, the Monorail is on the case. As for its beleaguered status, that is much less of a problem since the Monorail emerged from bankruptcy in May 2012. It scaled down its own spending requirements and shaved $40 million in debt down to $13 million, at a lower interest rate. "Under that provision, what matters is that the monorail produces more cash than it consumes and that the [monorail] has shown that it is more likely than not that it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future … Invective tended to overshadow the fact that, as much as the monorail may be a lightning rod for those who think it represents the worst of government and bureaucracy - a sort of glaring example of nonsense on stilts - it is still a significant financial and physical presence in Las Vegas," wrote U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Bruce Markell.
The Monorail celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this summer. Reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "At the Sahara monorail station, people getting on and off trains could sing karaoke for prizes. Riders at the station by Bally’s could have their caricatures drawn for free and do the "Cupid Shuffle" dance. Stations gave out popcorn, drinks and cupcakes. Every station had a DJ, except for the Flamingo station, which had a duo of steel drummers." Ridership figures still remain less than a cause for celebration but the Monorail sees heavy traffic whenever the Consumer Electronics Show or any other major trade show is in town. As goes the Las Vegas Convention Center, so goes the Las Vegas Monorail.
Unfortunately, the definitive account of the Monorail’s birth pangs, Juice Train by Steve Sebelius and Geoff Schumacher, is no longer available. The R-J removed the link to that prize-winning investigative story when it closed down alternative weekly CityLife. Too bad, as it was a must-read story for anyone interested in how the Monorail came to be. We will endeavor to track down a copy and, if successful, will share accordingly.
