Disney monorail accident: Disney World reopens monorail -- with extra safety steps
Walt Disney World said it reopened its monorail system this afternoon -- after taking new safety steps to monitor track switches, according to a note to employees
Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writer
2:04 PM EDT, July 6, 2009
Walt Disney World said it reopened its monorail system this afternoon -- after taking new safety steps to monitor track switches, according to a note to employees this morning.
The move came about 36 hours after a predawn collision killed one monorail pilot. The collision occurred as one of the trains was supposed to be in the midst of transferring off the system's Epcot line, which ferries guests between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and onto a main Magic Kingdom line, according to Disney's note.
Disney told its employees that investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have "released" the monorail system back to the resort. OSHA says it currently has two investigators on scene.
"We have completed a thorough safety inspection and system checks to verify that it is safe to operate the monorail for our guests and cast," Disney said. "We've added additional verifications of these track switch positions, supplemented our safety procedures and protocols for these operations, and communicated these changes to our Transportation partners."
The new procedures include having multiple employees verify that a switch between monorail beams has been completed before a train is allowed to advance.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District, the Disney-controlled government that provides fire and medical response across the sprawling resort, this morning released transcripts of the initial 911 calls that illustrate the confusion surrounding the first fatal accident in the system's 38-year history.
"The monorail, it's, something's happened with it. I don't know if it derailed or something," a breathless, unidentified Disney employee told a 911 dispatcher. "We just heard a loud bang and my manager came running in to tell me to call you."
A second caller described to dispatchers a "head-on collision" just outside the passenger-loading station at the Transportation and Ticket Center, which serves as a transportation hub for guests traveling between the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and nearby hotels.
"A monorail was waiting to come into the station, I believe, or did not leave the station. The other one cleared through the station. And it was a head-on collision," the caller said.
Neither he nor a woman who made a third 911 call could answer with certainty when the dispatcher asked about injuries. But both clearly suspected the worst.
"I believe there will be," the third caller said.
My heart goes out to the family and friends of the monorail driver. May he rest in peace.
