(The Associated Press circulated the following article on September 9.)
LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas monorail was closed one day after it reopened when a piece of a train’s undercarriage fell off Wednesday and landed in a busy street.
No one was injured when a slip disk — similar to a large washer — came loose and fell about 25 feet to the pavement, monorail spokesman Todd Walker said. The 6-inch disk weighing one to two pounds first struck a power rail, causing electrical arcing but no serious damage to the track.
The monorail had reopened Tuesday after being closed for six days following a Sept. 1 incident in which a 60-pound wheel fell off one of the trains. Nobody was hurt. The wheel apparently was installed improperly at an assembly plant.
The $650 million private venture began operating in July. Walker said the fully automated monorail, which travels along a 3.9-mile route, will reopen when Clark County inspectors and system officials say it’s safe.
Ron Lynn, head of the county building division, said every train’s undercarriage would be dismantled and inspected.