New Monorails - Still a "Thing"?

[AggieDizzer]

Last year there was a lot of brouhaha out in the rumor mill about WDW replacing the aged, smelly, oft-broken down Mark VI fleet. This rumor seems to have died down, as have the reports of mechanical issues with the current monorail fleet. Was it ever confirmed that new monorails are on the way, and if so, is there a timeline? Or given the expense of the major upgrades currently taking place and the addition of the gondolas, that any new monorail project will be put on the back burner?

 

[mar7967]

Info from @rteetz and his Rumor Tracking Thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-rumor-tracking-thread-updated-3-21-19.3549330/

New Monorail Trains
January 2018 - Disney is meeting with companies to potential build new monorail trains in time for the 50th anniversary.
April 2018 - Disney has not confirmed new monorails are coming at this point but several sources indicate a deal is close with the possible manufacturer Bombardier who built the previous trains. Bob Gurr at an event in Orlando said Disney is indeed close to a deal and that new trains will be coming soon as the current ones are over their expected life span.
May 2018 - A deal is very much in the works with Bombardier the Canadian company who built the previous monorails. The plan is to have at least some monorails done by the 50th anniversary.
October 2018 - Monorails are still very much in the plans from Bombardier.
December 2018 - Monorails are still on the table from Bombardier and would be an incremental upgrade (one train at a time). Timetable is 2020-2021 if all goes to original plan.

 

[AggieDizzer]

Sweet! Love it. Have to admit I have a lot of nostalgia for the current monorail, and will hate to see them go. But it's time. I can't wait to see the renderings of the new trains.