Las Vegas Monorail Re-Opens Before New Year’s Eve

LAS VEGAS, NV -- December 27, 2004 -- Just in time for the busy New Year’s weekend, the Robert N. Broadbent Las Vegas Monorail has re-opened and begun carrying paying passengers along the Las Vegas Strip.


After receiving approval from Clark County officials, the monorail re-opened to the public at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 24. And to thank Las Vegas locals and visitors alike for their support, monorail officials invited everyone to ride free from Dec. 24 to 28.

Following intensive testing known as recommissioning, monorail officials said Clark County granted the approvals necessary to allow Bombardier Transportation, the company contracted to build and operate the monorail, to resume operating the 4-mile transportation system along the east side of the Las Vegas Strip.

James Gibson, chairman and CEO of Transit Systems Management, the project’s management firm, thanked Las Vegas locals, visitors, hotel partners, bondholders and others for their support and patience since the monorail voluntarily closed the system Sept. 8.

“We are obviously pleased to get the Las Vegas Monorail back on line,” Gibson said. “The results of this recommissioning period have given us every confidence that the necessary changes have been made and that the system is safe and reliable. We look forward to the monorail meeting its mission and carrying millions of passengers for many years to come. We think there’s no better way to thank everyone for their support than to invite Las Vegans and the visitors to Las Vegas to ride the monorail as our guests for five days during the holiday season.”

Raymond T. Betler, president of Bombardier’s Total Transit Systems, said, “We are extremely pleased that the Las Vegas Monorail will re-open in time for the holiday season and extend our sincere appreciation to our customer, the Las Vegas Monorail Co., and Clark County for their close cooperation during the interruption of monorail service. We also wish to thank the Las Vegas community for their patience during this period and look forward to being part of the monorail’s long-term success.”

The monorail re-opened its seven stations simultaneously on Friday. Its hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, except on New Year’s Eve, when it will run until 3 a.m. One-way fare is $3. A one-day pass is $10. Daily, multi-day and multi-ride passes are also available for purchase at participating hotels, at all monorail stations and at www.lvmonorail.com.

About the Las Vegas Monorail

The Las Vegas Monorail connects eight major resorts, linking more than 24,000 hotel rooms and about 4.4 million square feet of meeting and convention space. The initial 4-mile route stops at the following seven stations: MGM Grand; Bally’s/Paris; Flamingo/Caesars Palace; Harrah’s/Imperial Palace; Las Vegas Convention Center; Las Vegas Hilton; and the Sahara. The $650 million transportation system runs along the Las Vegas resort corridor, traveling at a top speed of 50 mph. Up to nine trains consisting of four cars each run on a single rail that rises 20 feet high in most areas, its highest point reaching 70 feet above the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information, visit www.lvmonorail.com.

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Todd Walker

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Las Vegas Monorail

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