Did the Monorail Investors Recoup Their Investment?

Did the investors in the Las Vegas Monorail, which is now sold, recoup their investment?

For the full saga of the Las Vegas Monorail and its financing, see George Knapp and Steve Sebelius' article "Next Stop, Suckerville." (It's accessible via a Google search.)

The short version is that the Monorail was founded as a nonprofit (because it's a public service), so making investors whole was never part of the concept. Bonds issued by the state of Nevada went toward bankrolling the project. Operating costs were covered by (high) fares and corporate sponsorships … we’ll always miss the Star Trek: The Attraction-themed tram.

But we digress.

Had a four-mile airport extension, approved in 2007, ever been built, it would have been done with private money, putting the Monorail's profitability to the acid test.

In any event, recouping money is doubly moot. The Monorail filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and will do so again as part of its $24.26 million purchase by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. So if your public entity had money in the Monorail, you kissed it goodbye a long time ago. The Monorail is technically being auctioned as part of the 2020 bankruptcy, although we’d be shocked to our core if anyone but the LVCVA bid on the rail line.

What’s more interesting than the financial fate of the Monorail are the caveats that come with the LVCVA purchase. For starters, no longer would there be a noncompete clause preventing "alternative transit" systems on the Strip. Enter Elon Musk and his Boring Co., which has already been green-lit to connect both Encore and Resorts World Las Vegas with the Las Vegas Convention Center via subway. Today Encore, tomorrow the Strip. (A Monorail extension to Downtown was kiboshed in 2005 when the George W. Bush administration nixed $400 million in funding, ending hopes of riding from MGM Grand to Main Street Station.)

Secondly, tucked away in the LVCVA's purchase agreement is the setting aside of $11 million to dismantle the Monorail at some unspecified future point. Given that the LVCVA only plans to operate the line until 2028 or 2030, this is Very Bad News for Monorail fans. Otherwise will say good riddance, as the Monorail was prone to breakdowns, at an operational loss of $85,000 a day.

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.

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Comments

Dave Sep-22-2020

Obsolete cars?

Isn’t the LV monorail the same type of system that Disney World uses?

Couldn’t LV use whatever cars Disney switched to?

Mind you I’m no fan of the LV monorail, but really? Obsolete?

O2bnVegas Sep-22-2020

gave up early on

We were excited hearing about the Monorail coming.  Excitement died after first use.  It was good for exercise, a long trek to get to and from the monorail stations.  At the time we said we could get from Harrah's to MGM Grand much faster on foot.

rokgpsman Sep-22-2020

Bad implementation

I gave the monorail a few tries when it first opened. Several critical mistakes doomed it from ever getting fully utilized. It connected at the backside of huge properties, a very long walk for people to and from the hotel front desk or casino, especially those that are older or with a walking disability or anyone with shopping bags, suitcases or kids. And the most important thing they should have done was run it to the airport for people arriving at the airport and returning to the airport. That alone would have served thousands of paying passengers each month. It should have run from the airport above the center part of LV Blvd, stopping at landings or pedestrian bridges with an escalator or elevator that took you down to street level near the entrance of the major resorts. They should have had a second track with an express train that ran off-Strip behind the resorts, straight between the airport and the Convention Center area. It was a wasted opportunity.

Marla Corey Sep-22-2020

Too far to walk

Much easier, faster and cheaper to catch the bus on LV Blvd. Monorail was not worth the cost for a ticket. Had it gone to the airport it may have succeeded.

[email protected] Sep-22-2020

Will be missed

I always loved the Monorail - made it easy to zip up and down the strip to take in restaurants and shows for much less than a cab.  I always went online and found coupons for discounted multi-day tickets.  The last time I think I found a four day pass for less than $30.  Since I like to walk I never minded the walks through the casinos to the stations, and it was sure a lot easier to take the monorail from Harrahs all the way to MGM Grand than to have walked all that way.

For those who mentioned the strip bus - I tried it once, people were jammed in like sardines and had to stand the entire trip while stopping many, many times, so a lot of jerking and jostling - no thanks!

Question of the Day - 22 September 2020

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