Mandalay Bay Tram

Each of the two streamlined trains is made up of five cars

Mandalay Bay Tram
Legend Excalibur North[1] (peak south only) Excalibur Hotel[2] (peak north only) Luxor (peak north only) Mandalay Bay

The Mandalay Bay Tram is a 850-metre (2,800 ft) long people mover that opened in 1999 on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, USA. It was constructed to connect three gaming hotels belonging to the MGM Mirage Group.^[3] The line carries passengers from the major Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection, via the Excalibur Hotel and Casino and Luxor Hotel to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino at the southern end.

The dual-track system is a cable driven and free for the public to use. If only one track and train are in use, it serves at all four stations. During peak periods, both tracks are in use. The express train running non-stop southwards from Excalibur North to Mandalay Bay (returning empty); the second train travels northwards depositing its passengers at Excalibur Hotel (and also returning empty).

The asymmetric arrangement—requiring a walk from Excalibur Hotel to Excalibur North—is designed to encourage extra patronage to each of the served hotels.

Background

The Mandalay Bay is a Cable Liner Shuttle installation consisting of an elevated 2,749 ft (838m) long guideway with two completely independent shuttle systems running side-by-side.^[4] The guideway alignment passes above street level at a height of between 16 and 26 ft (5–8m).^[4] One system serves all four stations along the route, while the other provides an express link between the two end stations.

Each system consists of one train with five cars. The individual cars carry 32 passengers each, thus each train has a total capacity of 160 passengers. System 1 carries 1,300 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd) and has four stations; system 2 carries 1,900 pphpd, and has two stations (and four passengers per square meter). The trains run back empty in the opposite direction between each passenger-carrying run. In the first year of operation, the system carried approximately 21 million passengers. The train cars are firmly attached to a haul rope and run on pneumatic tires to ensure extremely quiet operation. The train can reach a travel speed of 36 km/h (22.4 mph) and the guideway is an open, modular steel tube truss structure.^[4] The custom train design is one of the highlights; the trains have been filmed for television commercials, and the Mandalay Bay Group patented the design.^[4]

Project

The Mandalay Bay Tram project was started on September 2, 1998, when the contract with DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car was signed. The Cable Liner Shuttle was completed in April 1999, after only nine months from the notice to proceed and had a contract amount of US$16 million.^[5]

Facts

There are two independent 2,749-foot (838 m) long shuttle systems side-by-side, built on an elevated modular steel truss guideway. The five-car trains are propelled by stationary drive machinery, controlling train acceleration, speed, propulsion and braking. They have a capacity of 32 passengers per vehicle (160 passengers/train) and travel at a speed of 36 kilometres per hour (22 mph). The headway is 220 seconds and the dwell time is 50 seconds.^[6]

Each of the two tracks has its own independent 33-millimetre (1.3 in) diameter wire rope, containing a single splice to make it into a loop. The wire was manufactured by Austria Draht Wire Rope then spliced and tested in situ by Richard Ryer Incorporated.^[7]

The tram runs during the hours of 11:00 am and 10:30 pm.

References

1. ^ Vegas.com, Transportation: Monorails, retrieved 2008-07-11.
2. ^ NYCSubway.org, Las Vegas, Nevada, retrieved 2008-07-16.
3. ^ "References: Las Vegas Mandalay Bay". DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car. http://www.dcc.at/doppelmayr/references/en/tmp_1_435423795/Las_Vegas_Mandalay_Bay_detail.aspx. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Automated People Mover (APM): Planner's Guide. DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH. 2008. pp. 83. 
5. ^ Automated People Mover (APM): Planner's guide. DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH. 2008. pp. 83. 
6. ^ References. DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH. 2008. pp. 3. 
7. ^ Richard Ryer. "Electromagnetic inspection of wire rope: Mandalay Bay Tram". http://ryerrope.com/cableliner.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 

External links

• DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car, designers' website
• Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, parent company of DCC.
• Video of full journey (express southbound, taking 90 seconds).

Coordinates: 36°05′48″N 115°10′26″W / 36.0968°N 115.1739°W / 36.0968; -115.1739