Disney Monorail Accident

[randomperpie]

Two monorails at Florida's Walt Disney World collided yesterday killing an employee. The monorail was leaving Epcot after a Fourth of July fireworks show early Sunday morning at around 2 a.m.


Complete Article here: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/275368

Wasn't the monorail supposed to be removed? (I swear I heard that from somewhere....)

Thoughts?

[-Kasbian-]

Wow.
Very interesting since there are two tracks next to each other going in different directions.
And how did the passengers not get injured?!

[Hethetheth]

Wow.
Very interesting since there are two tracks next to each other going in different directions.
And how did the passengers not get injured?!

It was a stationary train and a moving one on the same track. It was just the back of one train and the front of another, hence passengers were fine.

[Rct3Mike]

Here's a site with a picture: http://www.foxnews.com/us/index.html

EDIT: They took the picture down! I can't find it anywhere now!

It looks pretty bad...

[-Kasbian-]

Oh so one train was slow and the other was fast?:bulb:

[Cedar Point]

No, one wasn't moving.

[-Kasbian-]

Uhhh.......
-Tram one---><---Tram two--->
=========Track===========
^Interesting......

[Obi_Wan_Cannoli]

My bro in law works at Disney as an inspector, he'll be getting some more details on this tomorrow, of which I'll relay here. :)

[iDelphi]

Uh Oh. Its sad the person died.

[CedarPointer]

I thought the monorails were designed to prevent exactly that from happening?

[JayAC.]

This is very sad indeed. The driver's family must be having a really hard time right now. Those trains are completely wrecked. I guess it was lucky that the trains weren't full with passengers when this happened.

I thought the monorails were designed to prevent exactly that from happening?
They are, but I believe the system can be turned off by the operators under certain circumstances. I haven't really looked into this, but that might have been one of the factors that led to the accident.

[aoshi]

The trains automatically stop if they come too close to the monorail ahead of it. So many things had to go wrong for this to happen. It was a very sad day today at Disney World. It's scary because the monorail always seemed so perfect and safe. I even took it that night, a few hours before the crash.

[simtanic8]

Its sad this happened, and what is scary for me is that I was on that train 2 days ago.....

-Simtanic8

[Squid2]

For everyone's info, the accident occured on the Epcot line, not the Seven Seas Lagoon lines. Only the driver of Blue Train was killed... while both trains had passengers on them, the guests only suffered minor scrapes and bruises.

And no, randomperpie, the monorails are not being removed. Disney needs them to move guests around too much to ever get rid of them. Just watch what's going to happen down there over the next few days. Their bus system is about to be overloaded, and I'd expect to see many more buses, boats, and maybe even an old ferry put back into use to handle the overload.

Squid2

[Maylene]

^ umm there was no blue train involved.

[Squid2]

^ umm there was no blue train involved.

I'm trying to hold my tongue... the pictures clearly show both Trains Blue and Red involved. One of the nosecones of Red pierced the driver's cabin of Blue, and this is clearly shown.

So, if that train isn't Train Blue, nor is it Train Red, what trains were involved? Mind you, by tradition, Monorail Trains Red, White and Blue always run at WDW on the 4th of July. They were seen on the course, and at least one of the people who posts on this forum RODE Train Blue that day, so we know it was in use at the time.

Squid2

[simtanic8]

The picture of the monorail trains shows that its was the Red and Purple trains, not blue. But the color doesnt matter, waht matters is that this happened, Im wondering what caused this to happen.

-Simtanic8

[Squid2]

Everything I've heard and seen says it was Blue. I've even heard the news report it was Blue. But you're right, the color is immaterial to what happened.

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone... I had a very bad 4th of July which was completely unrelated to what happened in Orlando. I lost someone who was a good friend of mine earlier in the day, and found out another friend was paralyzed in a separate incident. Needless to say, I didn't have a good holiday.

Squid2

[Obi_Wan_Cannoli]

^ Don't worry about it man, I know how you feel. Personally, two friends of mine died this past week. No fun here either. Stay strong mate.

[CoasterJoe]

Wow, Thats really sad that that happened.

I did find a picture
http://media2.myfoxorlando.com//photo/2009/07/05/monorail_crash_20090705153550_640_480.JPG

[Rupeeman]

According to screamscape,it`s neither blue or red.It`s actually pink and purple,just to clear it out.:noob:
Still,that`s freaky!:eek: I hope they find the cause as soon as possible before it happens again!

Here`s also a clear description from our Mr.Wiki on how the MAPO works:

Safe train spacing is maintained via a moving blocklight system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cab_signalling), referred to as MAPO, installed in the cab of each train.[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Monorail#cite_note-Jose-4) MAPO appears in the top center of the pilot's console and looks similar to a horizontal stop light. There are three lights—green, amber, and red—and a push-button labeled "Override". The term "MAPO" itself comes directly from Walt Disney, who formed a new company to deal with Disneyland's transportation system directly from the profits made by Mary Poppins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_(film)).[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Monorail#cite_note-HMorg-9)
Each monorail beam is divided into blocks based upon pylon numbering. The currently illuminated MAPO color indicates how far ahead the leading train is currently located. A green MAPO shows that the leading train is 3 or more blocks ahead, amber means 2 blocks ahead, and red indicates that the next train is in the very next block. A block is roughly between 500 and 1000 feet (about 150 and 300 m) long, although this varies. The start of each block is called a "hold point", as pilots may need to hold their trains at that location until the train ahead moves away. Guests riding in the front cab of a monorail can identify hold points by the yellow reflective tape around a pylon's number and by two yellow reflectors attached to the top outside edges of the monorail beam at that pylon.
For safety, trains must be kept at least two blocks apart during normal operation. A red MAPO indicates that train spacing has become unsafe. When a red MAPO occurs, the train's on-board computer locks out the pilot's propulsion control and applies emergency brakes. The pilot cannot resume control of the train until either the MAPO clears or the pilot presses and holds the MAPO override button.[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Monorail#cite_note-Jose-4)
It is the pilot's responsibility to avoid a red MAPO during normal operation. When the MAPO switches from green to amber, this indicates that the monorail is approaching the train ahead. The pilot must stop the train before crossing into the next block of beam way and hence before the MAPO switches to red. Should a pilot cross the hold point and receive a red MAPO, this counts as a safety demerit against the pilot. If the pilot ever has three demerits on their record, then they will be transferred out of the monorails department and into a different role at Walt Disney World.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Monorail#cite_note-10)

[iDelphi]

I looked at Orlando Attractions Magazines Twitter and it opens back up today.

[Rupeeman]

Uhhh.......
-Tram one---><---Tram two--->
=========Track===========
^Interesting......
I would like to refer this post to some news that popped up on Screamscape today.Appearently,monorail Pink is the perpetrator here,which went backwards onto monorail Purple,which appears to have been stationary at the time.

The switch tracks near the accident site also had something to do with it.