Engineers reviewing monorail after smoke, electrical shortage at Disney
Walt Disney World's monorail system is only partially operational now after an electrical short at the monorail control booth at the Magic Kingdom platform this morning.
Bianca Prieto and Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writers
5:34 p.m. EDT, September 30, 2009
(A previous version of this story gave an incorrect location for the electrical short and of the management for Disney's transportation operations and maintenance areas.)
Walt Disney World's monorail system is only partially operational now after an electrical short at a control booth at the Magic Kingdom monorail platform this morning.
Smoke was seen after the short, which happened at about 10:05 a.m and caused a train pulling into that station to stop. About 25 guests were on that train for about 10 minutes while a tractor towed the train to the station, where the guests unloaded.
Monorail loops to the resorts and Magic Kingdom are closed. The line to Epcot is still running.
Engineers are reviewing the system now.
"Our buses and ferryboats are currently available to transport guests as our engineering services team reviews the situation," said Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez.
The Reedy Creek Fire Department responded to the incident around 10:14 a.m., but did not find a fire.
No injuries were reported, a sheriff's spokesman said.
In July, monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg died when two trains collided at Disney's Transportation and Ticket Center -- the main station for visitors boarding trains for the Magic Kingdom.
The July 5 crash, the first fatal accident in the monorail's 38-year history, has sparked multiple investigations, including probes by the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
While investigators think human error is at least partially to blame, according to people familiar with the probes they are also scrutinizing Disney's internal policies and procedures to determine whether they may have contributed.
One area investigators have zeroed in on: The practice of allowing monorail drivers to remain in the front cabin while they drive in reverse through track switches, rather than requiring them to drive from twin controls in the rear cabins of their trains.
The crash that killed Wuennenberg occurred when another driver, who was driving from the front cabin, backed into Wuennenberg's train.
Disney has given documents and other information to both NTSB and OSHA, but neither group has made a ruling about the crash.
Wuennenberg's mother is seeking legal action against Disney.
Two weeks ago Disney made a change to its transportation leadership. The company moved its transportation maintenance and transportation operations under one leader, adding the operations portion to report to Jim Vendur.
Disney's transportation system includes the ferryboats, 300 buses and the 15-mile-long monorail.
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