People who like the Las Vegas Monorail enjoy its convenience, especially during major conventions at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
But why doesn’t the Monorail go to Harry Reid International Airport?
At one time, there was a plan to extend the Monorail, now owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, to Reid International, where arriving passengers could board it and get to several Strip resorts in an above-ground, traffic-free environment.
But the cost of the line’s extension which would have taken millions of dollars and the eventual 2010 bankruptcy of the company running the transportation system prevented the plan from ever occurring.
While some local residents say a strong taxi and limousine industry lobby killed extension plans, it’s debatable whether those companies had anything to do with it.
The Clark County Commission in 2005 approved a study into the feasibility of extending the Monorail to the airport.
The route to the airport
Under plans floated in the study, the line would have been extended east and south from its southern terminus at the MGM Grand toward what is now Virgin Hotels Las Vegas (formerly Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas). From there, the track would have veered toward UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, then farther south to the airport.
The extension was proposed to be privately funded with possible federal transportation grants. But federal transportation officials declined support of the project, and the proposal eventually died.
One of the weaknesses of the system were the train’s cars themselves. Originally developed as a conveyance for Disneyland, train cars don’t have any stowage space for luggage. Clark County Aviation Department executives cited that as a big reason the Monorail would be unsuitable for airport passenger use.
In the end, extending the Monorail was ditched and, after a second bankruptcy filing in 2020, the LVCVA eventually acquired the system later that year for $24.3 million.
During its 20-year operational history, the 3.9-mile system with seven stations has had several failed line extension proposals.
When initially opened, there was a long-range plan in place to build a line serving resort properties on the west side of the Strip over Frank Sinatra Drive.
The idea of running the line down the Strip was killed by resort owners on Las Vegas Boulevard who viewed the system as a potential eyesore that would deliver customers away from their buildings, long before the first track was in place.
In 2005, plans were made to extend the system 2.3 miles north from the existing Sahara station into downtown Las Vegas. High costs scrapped that plan.
Mandalay Bay extension
After the airport extension idea failed, another southern extension, in 2018, suggested the line add 1.2 miles from MGM Grand to Mandalay Bay to accommodate passenger traffic to the newly opened Allegiant Stadium in time for the Las Vegas Raiders inaugural football season in 2020.
In addition, operators proposed adding a new station near The Venetian and the Sphere in time for the entertainment venue’s eventual 2023 opening — a plan that would have connected the city’s three major convention centers.
But that, too, failed.
At present, the LVCVA is content to keep the system running for as long as it can. Earlier this month, the LVCVA extended the system’s insurance policy another year and LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said the Monorail would continue running as long as possible as replacement parts become harder to acquire.
Eventually, the Monorail would be decommissioned, but Hill is hopeful the track infrastructure can be repurposed for another transit system after Monorail trains are long gone.
If the Monorail stays on track another three years, it could help deliver passengers to the planned 32,000-seat, $1.5 billion domed baseball stadium that would be built for the Athletics, who plan to open their 2028 baseball season in the new facility across the street from the Monorail’s southern terminus at MGM Grand.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
