Financial Spotlight

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 9/27/2004

Fitch Ratings placed a negative credit watch rating on the Las Vegas Monorail's $451.4 million in bonds as a result of the project's continued operational troubles. Since the 4-mile-long system opened in July, months behind schedule, it has twice been closed down. After a wheel fell off a monorail train on Sept. 1, the system was shut down for inspection for six days. It reopened for one day, then was closed down again after a flange fell off one of the trains. Even when the system was running, ridership hit only 55 percent of its expected level.