Disney World will reopen monorail -- with extra safety features

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-world-monorail-crash-070609,0,5007407.story

Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writer
11:51 AM EDT, July 6, 2009

Walt Disney World is reopening its monorail system today -- with new safety sensors added to monitor track switches, according to a note to employees this morning.

The move comes a little more than 24 hours after a predawn collision killed one monorail pilot. The collision occurred as one of the trains was being transferred off the system's Epcot line, which ferries guests between the Magic Kingdom and Epoct, 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.

"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."

A Disney spokeswoman said the resort had no immediate comment.

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, Ecpot 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

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thank you for the update.

 

[bobbieh76]

My friend is at Disney right now just posted on facebook that the monorail is back in service! This was at around 2:20pm today!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thank you for the update.

You're welcome.

 

[bjgrazi]

Does anyone know if they're allowing guests to ride upfront?

 

[WDWKOOK]

Good question. I, too wondered if guests would be permitted in the cab. This update is not much different from their 11:51 update:

Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writer
2:04 PM EDT, July 6, 2009

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-world-monorail-crash-070609,0,5007407.story

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.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

next thing you know they'll be putting airbags in the front cabin and seatbelts in all cabins and be no standing allowed and if even (1) seatbelt isn't buckled the train won't move. maybe if there were airbags in the front at the time of the crash,the driver may have survived

 

[DebbieB]

Does anyone know if they're allowing guests to ride upfront?

I just saw a news report and they said no, guests will not be allowed upfront.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

I just saw a news report and they said no, guests will not be allowed upfront.

again disney taketh and adds yet another "policy"

 

[bjgrazi]

again disney taketh and adds yet another "policy"

Somehow I think they're doing it out of respect for the drivers. They don't need to be hounded asked questions right now from guests about what happened. I'm sure at some point they'll allow guest to ride upfront. If not, it's their decision and you have to respect it.

 

[DebbieB]

It's probably better not to have people upfront distracting the drivers. If something happens, that could be a liability that they allowed it.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I am not surprised they are no longer allowing guests to ride up front.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-disney-monorail-ntsb-070709,0,7351564.story

By Scott Powers and Sarah Lundy
Sentinel Staff Writer
6:27 PM EDT, July 6, 2009

The fatal monorail crash at Walt Disney World early Sunday will be probed by the National Transportation Safety Board in an unprecedented move by the federal agency, which normally investigates airplane and public-train crashes.

The NTSB has never before claimed jurisdiction at Walt Disney World, which has provided virtually all of its own safety oversight since it opened in 1971.

The 2 a.m. Sunday crash at the Disney World Transportation and Ticket Center killed Disney monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg, 21, of Kissimmee. The driver of the second train suffered minor injuries. No passengers reported injuries.

After reviewing preliminary information gathered by Disney World safety investigators, the NTSB decided Monday afternoon to launch a full investigation. An investigator was to fly in from Los Angeles tonight.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Orange County Sheriff's Office also are probing the accident.

"We'll be going on scene and working with Disney there. We understand that OSHA is already involved," NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said. "We'll be looking at operating control systems, and their procedures, and the different procedures they use on the monorail to position trains."

The NTSB investigation is unprecedented. Not only has the federal agency never before sought to investigate a monorail crash at either Disney World or Disneyland in California, Knudson said he could not recall a single investigation involving an all-privately owned transit system operating on private land. But he said NTSB officials determined that they have jurisdiction.

"It is a widely-used transportation that is used by the public," Knudson said.

In most states, state departments of transportation set and oversee the safety and operating standards of transit systems, and investigate accidents. For example, the publicly owned monorail in Seattle, which runs one train per track, is overseen by the Washington Department of Transportation, while another public system in Las Vegas, Nev., which runs driverless trains, is overseen by Clark County, Nev., authorities.

Due in part to unique Florida state laws written in the 1960s when Walt Disney World was first proposed, the giant resort's rides -- including the monorail -- have been outside the jurisdiction of many state and federal regulatory agencies.

The Florida Department of Transportation's Transit Office, which regulates rail transit systems ranging from the airport-terminal shuttles at Orlando International Airport to the Tri-Rail commuter rail line in South Florida, claims no jurisdiction at Disney World. Nor does the Federal Transit Administration, which also oversees such transit systems nationwide, or the Federal Railroad Commission. The Florida Bureau for Fair Rides Inspection compiles data on Disney ride accidents but does not investigate them.

OSHA's jurisdiction is clear, and that agency regularly investigates workplace accidents at Disney. Two investigators were reviewing the monorail crash site today to understand what happened and determine whether any federal standards were violated. The pair arrived Sunday from Tampa.

The first step for the investigators is to determine what happened. They will visit the crash site and speak to anyone who witnessed the accident. If needed, they will review the data on the monorail's computers.

OSHA spokesman Michael Wald said he did not know how long the two investigators would be at Disney, or how long their investigation would take.

"We are looking at any evidence we can find," Wald said. "We take that information and figure out why it occurred."

Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441. Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel

 

[cosmos]

Does anyone know if they're allowing guests to ride upfront?

The cast member at the Contemporary monorail station said for the time being that guests will not be allowed to ride up front.

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

I think it's a good thing they aren't allowing guests up there right now. I can't imagine how hard it must be for the monorail pilots losing a fellow CM in their department.

 

[CarolA]

I am AT Disney.

I will NOT be on the monorail!

Seriously, in 24 hours they did a through investigation. Yeah, right. They did "opps we need to get this running and worry about things later"

And of course on here, it's Disney is bad " I want to ride up front because after all that's the "safe" spot"

GOOD GRIEF!

 

[seashoreCM]

From what was reported there were various risky maneuvers going on, namely no one closely observing the "rear" end of a train operating in reverse.

It also appeared that the CM who was killed lost his life through no fault of his own.

That would justify having the NTSB get involved.

>>> " ... we need to get this running and worry about things later"
Also looks to me this was a total human error and the rest of the system (MK-TTC loops) was not damaged in any way.

 

[rustyharleton]

Now that OSHA is involved the monorail will be less efficient and every guest to Disneyworld can add $10 to their park admission.

 

[ChrisK]

Now that OSHA is involved the monorail will be less efficient and every guest to Disneyworld can add $10 to their park admission.

OSHA is involved because of the mistakes made on the part of Disney with their policies and procedures and their employees following them. I'm sure Disney already has a low ball offer planned to for the family and is waiting for the right time to offer it.

 

[TChrist05]

OSHA is involved because they are in charge of protecting our workforces, be it a clerk in the supermarket or a bus or monorail driver in Disney. They will also do a thourough investigation and not really care with trying to save "Disney face" if they did something wrong. It is hard for me to understand why people would feel that the investigation is over if the monorail is back open. If it were not safe it would not be. Their are on these boards Disney lovers as well as Disney haters....let the investigation take its course and lets see what happens. Instead of preparing the low ball offer to the family, hopefully prayers are being said for him and his family. The lawyers will get rich later litigating this.