The Las Vegas Monorail just turned 20 years old in 2024. Known for being a reliable source of Strip travel for tourists, there are worries of it’s life expectancy coming to a potential end. That is, unless the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority can upgrade it or not.
The Monorail’s original trains were the same ones used in Walt Disney World until 2002. Today, it uses Bombardier Innovia 200 trains, which are only meant to last 30 years.
Upon reaching that 30-year mark, the LVCVA is seeking $12M to upgrade the train to make it last until 2035.
UNLV Hospitality Associate Professor Chih-Chien Chen shares that investing in upgrades is a wise thing to do for tourism.
“The Monorail is an attraction itself,” says Chen. She’s taken the Monorail with her family before. “It goes close to the Sphere, the High Roller… it’s a unique experience.”
But are other transit options better, like the Boring Las Vegas Loop, for example? Transportation engineer and Commissioner of Nevada High Speed Rail Authority Harry Teng has thoughts.
“I have a lot of doubt on this Loop system,” says Teng. “I raise many questions about its safety and operation efficiency.”
Las Vegas relies on many forms of mass transit not just including the Monorail and Loop but as well as bus systems. In Teng’s utopia, light rail is ideal.
“Light rail is a perfect future,” says Teng. “That’s about transportation for longer distances.”
Guests: Harry Teng, commissioner, Nevada High Speed Rail Authority; Chih-Chien Chen, associate professor, UNLV Hospitality
