1 Killed, 8 Hurt in Monorail crash

[DVCconvert]

As being reported on CNN:

Breaking News: Deadly Disney World Monorail Crash

POSTED: Sunday, July 5, 2009

At 2am Sunday morning, Reedy Creek Emergency Services responded to a call at the Ticket and Transportation Center at the Magic Kingdom. Two monorails collided. 8 people were evaluated total following the crash. One monorail driver was killed. The other driver is fine physically. There were 5 to 6 guests on the monorail at the time of the crash. Disney World Public Relations tells Local 6 that they will release more information later this morning. They are on scene right now gathering information about the incident.

A witness tells Local 6 that he heard a huge crashing noise when the monorails collided. He was able to get pictures and video of frazzled guests walking off the train.

Another report indicates that a moving pink train hit a stationary purple train.

Local 6 has obtained dramatic pictures from the scene of the crash. Stay with Local 6 for more information about this crash.

My thoughts and prayers go to the CM killed, their family and all those affected by this tragic accident.


ETA Disney Statement Released:

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"Today, we mourn the loss of our fellow cast members. Our hearts go out to his family and those who have lost a friend and coworker. The safety of our guests and cast members is always our top priority. The monorail is out of service and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement to determine what happened and the appropriate next steps to take."

[njmeisje]

Just saw this on CNN on tv as we wake up this morning. Very sad. We'll be there on Thursday. Sounds like the pink rear-ended the purple.

[Crazy Hakim]

Newest info is saying it was at the Epcot Transportation Center. I am sure there will be conflicting stories as the day dawns. Very sad day for all Cast Members, Guests, and Fans.
Prayers to the monorail driver and those also injured.

[AC & Savy's Mom]

I can't believe this...there are just some things you can never imagine, and this is one of those things for me. My heart goes out to the CM's family and coworkers, as this must be devastating to all of them.

[MinnieGirl33]

Very sad...

I thought MAPO would automatically shut everything down of trains got too close?

From another forum:

How do you keep from crashing into each other?

On the beamway at certain points there are transmitters.
These MAPO transmitters send an electrical signal through the
track. When a train is on the track, it blocks that signal.

These transmitters correspond to locations on the beam called
Holdpoints. The holdpoints are located at certain numbers,
which must all be committed to memory (your memory, not the
train's)

Each train has a receiver that can tell how many of these
signals it is receiveing. Say Monorail Red is driving behind
Monorail Blue. If there are four transmitters between the
trains, Red will only get four signals, because all the signalls
ahead of Blue are blocked by that train's presense.

If Red gets within two holdpoints of Blue, the train's MAPO
receiver will say "Hey, you're gettin' close buddy!" and turn on
an amber light on the console with a beeping alarm. At that
point the driver consults his super-keen monorail-intellect and
figures out where the next holdpoint is. He then stops there
and tells all the passesngers that the train is "waiting for
further traffic clearance."

If Red doesn't stop at that holdpoint? When he passes over
the transmitter at that holdpoint, and his MAPO is then only
receiving ONE signal, the train will automatically assume the
driver is insane: "Hey this idiot is tryin' ta dent my nose!"

The train puts on 85-90 psi air brakes and stops on a dime,
then you get canned. Well actually you're allowed three
"overruns" (the term for crossing the line). If however you do
something that is really dangerous, Good Bye. Three overruns is
the limit for your entire career. They never go away.

[fla4fun]

I wonder though if there is a speed limit beyond which MAPO doesn't work? Any time I've been on a monorail for the "routine maintenance check" that includes the automatic brakes, the monorail is traveling at a fairly slow pace. If something catastrophic happened to the driver (heart attack, or even fell asleep) and the monorail was going full speed like they do on that straightaway between Epcot and MK, would the automatic system have been able to stop the speeding train?

My prayers are with the family of the CM and the families who were on board at the time.

[Stevegriswold]

WOW,

We just rode on the pink monorail in the front all the way around the MK loop a few days ago (Sunday June 28th). They only can fit four up there with the driver, so a few of use rode in the car directly behind the cockpit. The emergency hatch fell open and almost on my head and several of us tried to push it back up to lock it back in place but it would not stay. We told a castmember at one of the hotel stops and they had all of us move out of that car when she could not get it to close either.

More importantly the brakes did feel odd when coming into the resorts. They did not feel smooth and always jerked a great deal on and off. Even another guy next to me commented to his friends that it felt like it needed to be serviced.

This is kind of an odd time for this to happen. I wonder if this was the final run for the night and other monorails had stopped for the night and pink was still going by mistake.

Steve Griswold

[thelionqueen]

This is just devastating! Never, in a million years, could I ever imagine a monorail accident causing death and injury.
My heart and thoughts go out to all WDW CM's and especially the family of the fallen driver

[BossBrody]

I wonder if we'll find out the driver fell asleep or was texting?

[DSNYGRL_JKS2006]

*OMG* I could *NOT* believe this when I saw it on CNN.com.. there were passengers.. so it had to be EMH to be running the monorail at 2am. This is just unreal and I never seen anything like this before in WDW. I couldnt imagine being there and hearing that huge crash to look up to see a monorail collided! Thoughts and Prayers go out from all of us in the Disney Family of course...



Disney World monorail crash kills driverStory Highlights
Crash occurred about 2 a.m. at monorail stop, killing a driver

Witness says one monorail train rammed into a stationary train

Family of six in one train was freed from damaged car, witness said

updated 1 hour, 54 minutes agoNext Article in U.S. »



(CNN) -- A monorail train at Walt Disney World crashed into the back of another train early Sunday, killing one driver, according to an amusement park spokesman and a witness interviewed by CNN.


A 2 a.m. ET monorail crash at Disney World killed one person, a park spokesperson said.

The crash occurred about 2 a.m. at one of the monorail stops at Disney World in Florida, said the witness, who requested anonymity.

"Today we mourn the loss of our fellow cast member," said a statement by Mike Griffin, Disney's vice president for public affairs. "Our hearts go out to his family and to those who have lost a friend and co-worker."

The statement said the monorail was shut down, "and we will continue to work closely will law enforcement to determine what happened and the appropriate next steps."

The witness said one monorail train rammed into the back of a stationary train. A photo of the crash provided by the witness showed the front car of a train badly damaged where it hit another train at a station.

According to the witness, a family of six in one train was freed from a damaged car. The witness said the family was shaken but uninjured.

[DisneyWithMyBoyz]

I'm confused with the photo above. In the other photos and the video, it shows the trains IN the station. Did they somehow move both of the trains into the station after they collided?

[catycatcat4]

Originally Posted by DisneyWithMyBoyz

I'm confused with the photo above. In the other photos and the video, it shows the trains IN the station. Did they somehow move both of the trains into the station after they collided?

I was about to ask the same thing

[BigRedGoat]

Originally Posted by DisneyWithMyBoyz

I'm confused with the photo above. In the other photos and the video, it shows the trains IN the station. Did they somehow move both of the trains into the station after they collided?

From what I understand, the photos of the trains outside the station are photos from as they were being removed. There is video of moments after the impact and both trains are inside the station at the loading platform.

[Dznefreek]

[Padrepride]

I was in Washington D.C. when the metro rail system there crashed which was surprising because it was operated by computer.

This monorail crash is stunning because the computer system is pretty new on these trains although it is operated by a person. To me, it sounds like a brake failure or god forbid, the operator fell asleep or something to that effect. Thankfully, it sounds like no one else was riding in the cabin with the driver.