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Revision as of 03:15, 14 June 2007 by HeadMouse (talk | contribs) (Undid revision 138054077 by Spartan-James The original article meets ALL wikipedia guidelines and is accepted by the Trains WikiProject.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Walt Disney World Monorail System | |
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| Overview | |
| Locale | Walt Disney World |
| Transit type | Straddle-beam monorail |
| Number of lines | 3 |
| Number of stations | 6 |
| Daily ridership | 150,000 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | October 1 1971 |
| Operator(s) | Walt Disney World |
| Technical | |
| System length | 203 feet, 6 inches |
The Walt Disney World Monorail System is installed at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. One of the most famous symbols of the park, the original Mark IV monorail was designed in California and assembled in Florida by the Martin Marietta Corporation. The new Mark VI monorails were built by Bombardier and the first of the twelve new trains (Monorail Blue) arrived to Disney property on June 8, 1989 and were installed shortly after. Since 1971, when the loop at the Magic Kingdom was built, the monorail has traveled the equivalent distance of twenty-one trips around the world.
Routes and Trains
Routes
On a typical weekday, around 150,000 Walt Disney World guests travel on three routes: The Express route features service between the Magic Kingdom and the Ticket and Transportation Center. The Resort route features local service making stops at the Magic Kingdom, the Transportation and Ticket Center, Disney's Polynesian Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
and Disney's Contemporary Resort. Starting from the TTC, the monorail goes first to the Polynesian, The Grand Floridian, The Magic Kingdom, and the Contemporary before returning to the TTC. The last of the three is the Epcot route with service between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Epcot
A spur track connects the Express and Resort lines to the maintenance shop. Another spur connects the Epcot and Express lines and is located north-east of the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Train Colors
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Trains
The Walt Disney World Resort is currently operating twelve Mark VI trains. Each train is identified by one of the colored stripes listed above. To help visually identify Green from Lime, and Pink from Coral, Lime & Coral have a white DELTA on each car.
As the train floor is slightly raised above the platform, a portable ramp must be used to load guests in wheelchairs. For many years, the Contemporary Resort station was not handicap-accessible. An elevator has since been added to the platform.
The train is also known around the world for its friendly advice and familiar voice used for years: "Please stand clear of the doors; Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas." This voice belongs to Jack Wagner, "The Voice of Disneyland."
Since March of 2007, almost all the trains now have the new LMCU (touch screen) control system, while Lime and Blue remain with the older system pictured to the left.
Terminology
Monorail cast members communicate using jargon specific to Walt Disney World.
Cast Members
The cast members that operate a monorail train are called pilots. The Walt Disney World pilots are a separate group of operators from those who drive the resort buses and receive separate training.
One cast member acts as Monorail Central. Central controls the operation of the entire monorail system, usually by issuing instructions to pilots via radio. Central is responsible for setting up each day's operation in the morning, for handling contingencies and emergencies that occur during the day, and for moving trains off the system after all parks have closed. A cast member can act as Central only with a history of safe train operation, the ability to train other monorail pilots, and a rigorous training period during which they must successfully triage and treat simultaneous simulated emergencies. Monorail Central operates out of the glass booth on the Epcot Load platform at the Transportation and Ticket Center.
The manager who oversees all monorail operations at Walt Disney World is called Monorail 1. Monorail one is a GSM (Guest Service Manager) that usually handles guest complaints as well as other items such as selling (redirecting guests at the base of the entrance ramps, similar to a carnival barker would sell tickets) ferry boats if there is a monorail downtime, or calling to start bus service if there is a closure, etc.
Stations
Monorail cast members refer to the system's stations as follows: The Base includes the platforms for both the lagoon and exterior track at the Transportation and Ticket Center. The Concourse includes the load and unload platforms for the Epcot track at the Transportation and Ticket Center. The stations at the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, at the Magic Kingdom, and at Epcot are named after each location. Because there is no monorail service to Disney's Animal Kingdom, cast members refer to the Magic Kingdom station simply as "Kingdom" without confusion.
Beams
The Monorail beams, which are made of concrete with a special polystyrene core to lighten their weight, came by train from Washington state.
Monorail cast members formerly referred to beams or monorail tracks by their physical location rather than by the type of service offered by trains on the beam. This however was changed in order to facilitate one set of nomenclature for the system. The resort beam is the innermost beam of the two beams encircling the Seven Seas Lagoon. The trains operating the resort beam offer local service to the Magic Kingdom resorts. It was formerly known as the lagoon beam. The Express beam is the outermost beam circling the Seven Seas Lagoon and provides express service between the Transportation and Ticket Center and the Magic Kingdom. It was formerly known as the exterior beam. Finally, The Epcot beam connects the Transportation and Ticket Center with the Epcot theme park.
Maintenance
The monorail shop holds ten of the twelve Mark VI trains on its upper level (the bottom level houses the four steam locomotives that circle the Magic Kingdom). On any given night, two monorails are parked either in the Magic Kingdom station, the Epcot station or the Transportation and Ticket Center station. On nights where the temperature drops below freezing, the trains will be parked inside the Contemporary resort but in practice trains can be left in any station (even on the express side of a resort station). No train will ever be left outside two nights in a row because routine maintenance is performed nightly.
The work tractor can tow a monorail to the maintenance shop around the bend from Space Mountain. Monorail Operations at the Walt Disney World resort have 3 separate tractors that could in theory allow for the simultaneous towing of 3 different monorails. In the event of a power failure on one of the monorail lines, these tractors can still operate, as they are powered by on-board diesel engines.
Safety
Train Spacing
Safe train spacing is maintained via a moving blocklight system (MBS) installed in the cab of each train. The MBS 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 "MAPO override".
Each monorail beam is divided into blocks based upon pylon numbering. The currently illuminated color of the MBS indicates how far ahead the leading train is currently located. A green MBS 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 MBS is also called a MAPO and indicates that train spacing has become unsafe. When a MAPO occurs, the trains 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.
It is the pilot's responsibility to avoid a MAPO during normal operation. When the MBS 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 MBS switches to red. Should a pilot cross the hold point and receive a 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. A demerit is wiped from a record after one year.
Safety tests are performed daily to ensure that the MBS system is working properly on each train. At the direction of Monorail Central, each train will intentionally overrun a hold point to verify that a MAPO occurs and that the emergency brakes activate. Pilots perform tests in forward and reverse when bringing a train onto the system for the first time that day, and a forward test is again conducted mid-afternoon.
A MAPO will also occur when the pilot approaches a section of unpowered beam, a spurline, or a switchbeam thrown in the direction of a spurline. Pilots must engage the MAPO override when moving trains through a switch to the spurline. MAPOs occurring due to safety tests, switching, or beam power loss do not count as demerits against the pilot.
The term "MAPO" (Manufacturing and Production Organization) 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.
Safety in the Train
The trains at that operate the monorail each have 14 Fire Extinguishers, 2 in each car, 1 in each cab. 54 Emergency Exits and windows, a Emergency Intercom Phone, and a Air Horn are located in each train. A ALISON Heat Detection System is also present.
A monorail can make an emergency stop going at 40 mph in three and a half pylons (approximately 300 ft) when empty and a each train has a "Dead Man" control. This basically means that the pilot must keep their hand on the control while the train is in motion at all times. If the pilot lets go of the control for any reason, the trains emergency stop system will engage.
Severe weather
Monorail service can be suspended during severe thunderstorms. Should such a storm arise quickly, the trains will advance to the next available station and hold there until given the all-clear. Trains that are caught between stations can be ordered to come to a full stop and wait for the storm to pass.
Platform safety
Some stations have remotely-opened or even automated gates that bar riders from approaching the monorail track (and, thus, any approaching or departing train) until the operators have determined that it is safe to allow people to board the train. The cast member at the station should give you instructions on how to board if it is not made apparent. Other stations have manually operated gates to serve this function. The trains are powered by over 600 VDC, they draw this from a small rails (bus bars) running along the side of the beams. These bus bars are similar to the electrified or "third rail" of a subway trains.
See also
References
- ^ Monorial Express. "Facts". Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ NYCSubway.org. "WAlt Disney World Monorail". Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ WDW History. "Disney Monorail". Retrieved 2007-06-13.