Why Did Bombardier Stop Making the Monorail Cars?

Do other monorails (such as Disney) use the same cars that could be cannibalized for parts by the Las Vegas Monorail? It's a little unusual that Bombardier would build a monorail that it expected to be obsolete in just a few decades.

This question was submitted in response to our QoD of September 22, on investors in the Monorail. We wrote, "The obsolescence of the Monorail has been made unofficially official by the demise of the Bombardier Mark VI tram, for which the Monorail was custom-designed. So forget about replacing the current cars, never mind extending the route to Mandalay Bay or M Resort."

And here's why.

Planned obsolescence appears to have been part of Canadian-owned Bombardier’s business model. The Mark VI has been in use for 31 years at Walt Disney World, but the Mouse House was planning to upgrade to a newer Bombardier system this year, the Innovia 300.

The retirement of the Disney World trains would have provided the Las Vegas Monorail with a chance to buy up old cars and spare parts, at least theoretically. However, a monorail-sized monkey wrench was thrown into Disney’s plans in mid-February when it was revealed that Bombardier was in negotiations to sell its rail division to Alstom, another maker of rolling stock.

The move comes at a time when Bombardier is dramatically downsizing, removing itself from the aviation business as well. According to Walt Disney World Net, “Bombardier currently has billions of dollars in debt and has been trying to restructure its core business.” That’s never a good sign and it means that Disney World is going to have to hang onto its Mark VI line for the foreseeable future.

Disney could go with Alstom, but the acquisition could take as long as a year to close. Parts have been known to fall off the Las Vegas line and Disney’s has well-publicized problems of its own, including having the doors open in mid-ride. Eek!

It’s probably best to let the Bombardier VI series die a quiet death. Depending on the specs of the Innovia 300, maybe it would be compatible with the Las Vegas Monorail, but the Monorail's new owner, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, has shown no interest in pursuing that option.

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Comments

Dave Nov-06-2020

Obsolete?

It's somewhat shocking to hear that Disney is also in a pickle over this situation. Maybe their short-term solution would be to buy the trains from LV for use and/or cannibalization. After all, it kinda seems like the LVCVA isn't even going to restart operations of the LV Monorail particularly in light of the large scale plans for the Elon Musk tunnel system.

Frankly, I think a good short term use of the monorail would be for the tunnel to be built in phases, where the next phase is from the airport to MGM. There, passengers can transfer to the monorail while the remainder of the tunnel continues to be constructed.

Kevin Lewis Nov-06-2020

The moronrail is useless anyway

Ever actually rode it? It's a 10-15 minute walk to the back of a hotel--then you get dumped in the back of another hotel, also a long slog from the Strip. Good riddance.

steve crouse Nov-06-2020

Distribution line

To expand on that thought, Dave, why not bypass all the stations south of LVCC and tunnel straight from there to the airport, using the monorail as a temporary distribution point for the rest of the casinos until the individual tunnel stations could be built.
As far as parts availability to keep the cars in shape, I think it would surprise you just how fast aftermarket parts would be available, especially if there was a similar need from ChiDisney.
After all, Bombardier built them right nearby in Quebec, and it ain't rocket science.

Sandra Ritter Nov-06-2020

steve crouse

What is a ChiDisney?  I'm from Chicago and every time I see Chi I think it's Chicago but other than Walt Disney being born in Chicago I don't think there's a connection.

steve crouse Nov-08-2020

Chidisney

Perhaps I should have named them ChiComDisney, as they are owned by Communist China.
Not in the conventional way, but the lust for access to the 1.45 billion consumers has made Disney jump through the ChiCom hoops.

Question of the Day - 06 November 2020

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