Accidente en el monorriel de Disney

A Monorail train at Walt Disney World in Florida crashed into the rear of a stationary train at a passenger station near the Ticket and Transportation Center. At safety-conscious Disney, how did that happen?

A couple of years ago, I rode up front with the driver in a Disneyland Monorail car with my kids. The joystick used to drive the train has a trigger on it. I jokingly asked if the trigger was to shoot at other Monorail trains. The driver told me that despite the desire to nuke another train once in a while, the trigger was actually a failsafe mechanism. If the driver lost consciousness for any reason and let go of the joystick, the train would stop.

This is the first fatal accident in WDW's 38 year Monorail history
(c) Jay Malone via flickr

If the mechanism works the way it's supposed to, I suppose the unfortunate driver in this accident didn't fall asleep at the, umm, joystick. A picture of the controls of the Mark VI Monorail cockpit shows a different kind of controller than the one I saw in California. Maybe the sleep switch doesn't exist on the trains in Florida (somehow I doubt that).

It's been reported by the Associated Press and others that the Monorail trains had a computerized safety feature that was supposed to stop a train if it got too close to another on the same track. Why did that fail? A Disney fan site blog mentions some of the ways the safety feature (called the MAPO) could have been disabled.

Some reports are that the train in front was backing up to switch rails as the rear train was either stopped or coming into the station. According to the fans and cast members (Disney-speak for employees) that have commented online, the computer failsafe wouldn't work on a train backing up to switch rails.

My wife is a Disneyholic and I have to admit it's rubbed off on me. My kids love the place. I have to say I'm partial to Disneyland -- we took our first family trip to Walt Disney World this year and I wasn't too impressed. It's much less magical and much more businesslike. It's also huge, which means guests must rely on Monorail trains and buses to get anywhere.

This happened on a holiday and there are reports that the deceased driver's Facebook page had several mentions of him having to work extra hours. If fatigue played a part in this tragedy, Disney should take some responsibility for the incident.

As much as I enjoy Disney parks, I'm a little concerned about the company's willingness to be forthcoming in whatever it discovers to be the cause of this terrible mistake. I hope Disney has the courage to tell all -- and to take steps to fix the problems.