Monorail - more info please....

As I understand it, they've got the permissions they need - the Clark County commissioners signed off on the expansion way back in 2006, and they've certainly had time to settle other affairs.

Your first point is more salient. The real issue that's going to keep the project from getting started in the near future is the projected cost - a cool $500 million (on an Enterprise that has annual revenues of under $50 million).

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Dec-07-Thu-2006/news/11266701.html

http://www.8newsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=8980119

The city and county have made clear that they're not interested in paying for it, and considering the current economic climate it's hard to imagine how anyone else would be able to gather up that much dough. Still, when the next economic boom comes, I wouldn't be surprised to see the expansion get off the ground. I doubt the roadways to the Strip are going to be improved much in terms of traffic flow, so at some point the monorail may prove to be the most practical solution.

Incidentally, it's kind of funny that the post-apocalyptic video game Fallout:New Vegas features a monorail connection from McCarran to the Strip. Prophetic or dark humor by the makers, you decide.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Camp_McCarran

 

What's your source for that?

The monorail is a private company and they don't own the center of Tropicana either. They need to negotiate that with the city, if it means widening the median, then it means cutting lanes or widening the road, and they need approval to basically have a key road torn up for a year or more as they build.

Possible, but it brings in politics (again), and raises the pricetag. And we're still talking about a company that never paid back its initial bonds for construction, and got to borrow in a better climate with lots of backers. What takers would they get for new bonds now?

Pretty much the only way to pay for is for the taxpayers to fund it. Could luck with that in the current political and economic climate in Vegas.

 

The only way there can be an airport connection from the airport to the strip or downtown is if the county decided to build and operate it. They won't. The existing company will never be able to earn the revenue or get the credit to build it. They probably could fund it with existing surcharges on car rentals and with ire caused by long hauling cab drivers, they have a justification for it. At the end of the day, I don't know how it could be successfully implemented as it would be a hassle to transport luggage on it and through a hotel to the front desk in many hotels.

 

For the most part, the Monorail is perfectly safe both day and night. I would qualify that to say that I would not personally be comfortable walking in the vicinity of the closed Sahara in the wee hours unaccompanied. I'm sure this will change when the reborn Sahara/SLS/whatever opens.

In my not so humble opinion, extending to McCarran is a no-brainer, but since a major industry in Las Vegas considers airport transport to be their "territory", opposition is inevitable.

And (shameless plug) for a good overview of the Monorail, with some great photos (blow on fingernails, wipe on blouse), surf here:

http://world.nycsubway.org/us/lasvegas/

 

I remember when the LV monorail was FREE to ride.........

 

When was that?

 

I rode it free in 2002....a year or 3 later they started charging.

 

According to Wikipedia, the monorail didn't open to the public until July 2004.

 

This article was from 2008, and I think its great.

"Curtis Myles says he doesn't expect any resistance from cab drivers for the monorail expansion." uhhhhh.......

"If all goes according to schedule the first train will run to the airport in 2012." Still 7 months left for this to be true!

"There will be two more stations, one at terminal one and another that will be inside the airport expansion for a terminal three." Hey, Terminal 3 actually happened!

 

This is probably referencing the old MGM-Bally's monorail.

 

Originally there was four free monorail/shuttles on The Strip:
Excalibur to Mandalay Bay
Ti to Mirage
Monte Carlo to Bellagio
MGM Grand to Bally's

This new monorail, that runs from MGM Grand to Sahara, was an expansion built upon the original existing MGM Grand to Bally's monorail system.

 

Yes, I remember those but it seemed like Username was talking about riding the subject monorail in 2002 for free...when it wasn't even operating at that time.

 

The monorail Username is talking about is the old MGM Grand to Bally's monorail. The current monorail bought up their track and expanded on it and reopened it a few years later as a pay service.