Rumor New Monorails Coming Soon?

[eddie104]

Yeah, I wasn't guessing. I worked with these trains for 10 years. I've seen the mold, I've been in meetings with management where the mold was discussed and yes even results of tests were discussed. I agree with you I like the smell and it doesn't necessarily point to poor maintenance. When you have two powerful AC units per car working full time in the Florida humidity a lot of moisture is created. I've personally watched as trains with clogged drainage lines accumulated around a gallon of water each lap collecting in the hatch covers, only to be dumped on the wall carpet the moment the train starts it's incline to the contemporary. I've also handled guests complaints from those who got soaked from the same recurring incident. Over the years I've also seen them try various things to remove the mold, I remember one time they tried a new cleaning method and I didn't really like it (smelled like bleach). The trains also don't always have that familiar smell. When they put new carpet in the glue smell will easily overpower it and also same thing when the interiors are repainted. Now as to what the Mark IV trains smelled like in '83 I couldn't say, but I've heard they didn't have the exact same smell. This of course makes sense since they were entirely different trains and also didn't have as strong of AC units.

Shouldn't the mold encourage them to replace the trains faster as that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

[JoeCamel]

Most guests do smell it but understand what it is and don't bother saying anything.

Or they could be aged and their sense of smell failed as many do. They often have to rely on those around them to let them know their clothes need laundering or they need to bathe.

 

[JoeCamel]

Shouldn't the mold encourage them to replace the trains faster as that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

20 years and people still ride so I doubt there is much basis for damages. Now if the Hotel room had mold they might have a case

 

[eddie104]

20 years and people still ride so I doubt there is much basis for damages. Now if the Hotel room had mold they might have a case

If a full news report was to come out highlighting it as major health risk Disney would be in trouble. I'm guessing it is not as bad as a problem because if people were able to recognize the smell I could easily someone suing to get some money. If the monorail are washed and cleaned with bleach regularly then the mold would most likely go away however we know maintenance is not done like that.

 

[ChrisFL]

While we're on the topic of smells, and this is SLIGHTLY off topic, but is the monorail smell the same one that is quite noticeable in the Epcot seating area near Club Cool, the Light Lab?

I had heard complaints about it and hadn't really noticed until I visited a few weeks ago and they're right, it's very strong in there sometimes, but I don't know what it is....is it A/C....something with the bathrooms being nearby? I don't know.

 

[s8film40]

Shouldn't the mold encourage them to replace the trains faster as that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

If a full news report was to come out highlighting it as major health risk Disney would be in trouble. I'm guessing it is not as bad as a problem because if people were able to recognize the smell I could easily someone suing to get some money. If the monorail are washed and cleaned with bleach regularly then the mold would most likely go away however we know maintenance is not done like that.

I’m no mold expert, but I guess not all mold is particularly bad? There was a point where a bunch of CM’s started blaming getting sick from the mold and management insisted it wasn’t an issue. This was the bulk of much of the discussion I referenced earlier. I suspect they were right as over the years there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable effects out of the ordinary. I think the bigger health issue is actually the amount of dust and dirt that accumulates under those hatches where the return vents are. Most people would be pretty shocked to see what those look like. There was a time when they made a big push to replace the filters more regularly. Some of the filters that came out of those trains were basically 100% blocked and solid black.

 

[ChrisFL]

Even if there was mold, I don't think guests are exposed to it long enough to cause issues...but I'm not an expert

 

[lazyboy97o]

Shouldn't the mold encourage them to replace the trains faster as that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

No, because the mold should be rather isolated to the areas with high moisture, mostly around the mechanical air systems. It should encourage a combination of better maintenance or design.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

...mold isn’t much of a grounds for lawsuits...at least not passing incidental contact

You are covered in mold spores from the minute you leave the pool till the minute your hit the hole. Scientific fact in North America.

Try the Gobi desert if you’re a hypochondriac.

 

[DisneyGentlemanV2.0]

Point was clear. Mold and bacteria are not the same thing. Legionnaires' disease is caused by a bacterium known as legionella not mold.

Now, now - we can't let facts get in the way of opinions....

 

[nace888]

Here's my opinion. The new trains will need a new paint scheme.

 

[Brad Bishop]

Come ride MARTA here in Atlanta if you want to learn what reeking really is

I used to ride MARTA fairly often 10+ years back. Now it's too gross to bother with and the homeless people hassle you. I just don't bother any longer.

They've also done things like stop at North Ave station, when I'm trying to get the Philips Arena for an event, and announced, "Train is closed, get off!" There was nothing like, "Oh, buses are lined up outside to get you past the problem." Nope. Just, "Get off!" So if you were riding to the airport that day then sux2bu. This was about 10years back when I gave up on it. Before Uber. It just seemed like such a ridiculous way to run a transit system.

Add to it that:
- There's no overall plan for the system. We vote to give them more money and they just have 5-10 year "studies" on what maybe should happen. There's nothing like in other systems where you'll see a map of: 1) today's map 2) under construction 3) future
- not their fault, but when they try to expand it's always "racist". If they build into a black area then they're racist for splitting up / ruining the black neighborhood. If they don't build into a black area then they're racist for not building into the black neighborhood (no, I'm not kidding with this). The "Gold" line which used to be called the "Yellow" (like the "Red", "Green", and "Blue" lines) line just happened to end in a predominately Asian part of town. Yep: Racist! - so they changed it. They didn't change the color on the map. Just call it "Gold" now. Not everything is racist.
- The stations, outside of the urine smell, are just generally dingy. If they had a crew that just went from station to station and power washed everything, it's start being more appealing and maybe even would get rid of the urine smell (most potent in the elevators).

If you're in Atlanta, just drive.

 

[NormC]

Shouldn't the mold encourage them to replace the trains faster as that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

No, most molds are harmless. You encounter them everyday.

 

[Rodan75]

I used to ride MARTA fairly often 10+ years back. Now it's too gross to bother with and the homeless people hassle you. I just don't bother any longer.

They've also done things like stop at North Ave station, when I'm trying to get the Philips Arena for an event, and announced, "Train is closed, get off!" There was nothing like, "Oh, buses are lined up outside to get you past the problem." Nope. Just, "Get off!" So if you were riding to the airport that day then sux2bu. This was about 10years back when I gave up on it. Before Uber. It just seemed like such a ridiculous way to run a transit system.

Add to it that:
- There's no overall plan for the system. We vote to give them more money and they just have 5-10 year "studies" on what maybe should happen. There's nothing like in other systems where you'll see a map of: 1) today's map 2) under construction 3) future
- not their fault, but when they try to expand it's always "racist". If they build into a black area then they're racist for splitting up / ruining the black neighborhood. If they don't build into a black area then they're racist for not building into the black neighborhood (no, I'm not kidding with this). The "Gold" line which used to be called the "Yellow" (like the "Red", "Green", and "Blue" lines) line just happened to end in a predominately Asian part of town. Yep: Racist! - so they changed it. They didn't change the color on the map. Just call it "Gold" now. Not everything is racist.
- The stations, outside of the urine smell, are just generally dingy. If they had a crew that just went from station to station and power washed everything, it's start being more appealing and maybe even would get rid of the urine smell (most potent in the elevators).

If you're in Atlanta, just drive.

Just adding...Driving Sucks in ATL. Love the city...hate the traffic. I would move back in a second if I could guarantee that I wouldn't have a 2 hour commute to live anywhere affordable.

 

[lazyboy97o]

- There's no overall plan for the system. We vote to give them more money and they just have 5-10 year "studies" on what maybe should happen. There's nothing like in other systems where you'll see a map of: 1) today's map 2) under construction 3) future

And none of those expansions are to the existing system. That one is diesel commuter rail. That over there is BRT. This one is light rail but won’t work with the streetcar. That one will be right next to existing tracks, but we’re going to rip those out and build new ones.

 

[Horizons '83]

I used to ride MARTA fairly often 10+ years back. Now it's too gross to bother with and the homeless people hassle you. I just don't bother any longer.

They've also done things like stop at North Ave station, when I'm trying to get the Philips Arena for an event, and announced, "Train is closed, get off!" There was nothing like, "Oh, buses are lined up outside to get you past the problem." Nope. Just, "Get off!" So if you were riding to the airport that day then sux2bu. This was about 10years back when I gave up on it. Before Uber. It just seemed like such a ridiculous way to run a transit system.

Add to it that:
- There's no overall plan for the system. We vote to give them more money and they just have 5-10 year "studies" on what maybe should happen. There's nothing like in other systems where you'll see a map of: 1) today's map 2) under construction 3) future
- not their fault, but when they try to expand it's always "racist". If they build into a black area then they're racist for splitting up / ruining the black neighborhood. If they don't build into a black area then they're racist for not building into the black neighborhood (no, I'm not kidding with this). The "Gold" line which used to be called the "Yellow" (like the "Red", "Green", and "Blue" lines) line just happened to end in a predominately Asian part of town. Yep: Racist! - so they changed it. They didn't change the color on the map. Just call it "Gold" now. Not everything is racist.
- The stations, outside of the urine smell, are just generally dingy. If they had a crew that just went from station to station and power washed everything, it's start being more appealing and maybe even would get rid of the urine smell (most potent in the elevators).

If you're in Atlanta, just drive.

I drive and take the train, luckily for me its fairly simple 20 minute train ride and 20 to the station but yeah its gross and unreliable but its also not funded by the state at all which is part of the problem.

 

[MisterPenguin]

No, most molds are harmless. You encounter them everyday.

Indeed, you'll be exposed to more mold and mildew outside than inside, especially in Florida.

 

[nace888]

Y'all are such creative discussers, LOL! I will say though, the trains have been getting their much needed TLC, last I recall and heard... No telling which is next though. Either way, I'm ALL for supporting new trains and whatnot, but unless Disney decided to play secret, we all know for sure that those trains would be posted etc etc etc. I know I'd made jokes about it, but it's just what it is...

IF there's new trains in the works, and Disney DOES want to play secret secret, you still have to consider purchase options, design options, length of build time, which then feeds what they're doing to the current fleet now...

If new trains are to be a thing (and I'm not saying they are or aren't (though I wish they were)), there's a fair amount of work to go into getting those new trains, which means they're sprucing up the current fleet to handle the next few years... That's of course, if it's a thing... I know some things, but don't quote me on THIS information.

Back to what I said though, if there's new trains, my opinion is an updated version of the paint scheme!!

 

[Brad Bishop]

Just adding...Driving Sucks in ATL. Love the city...hate the traffic. I would move back in a second if I could guarantee that I wouldn't have a 2 hour commute to live anywhere affordable.

Yes it does. I used to live outside of Atlanta and wouldn't mind a 20min trek to the park to hike with my dog. I now life at Atlantic Station and if I don't get up early, I know that I'm faced with just getting out of town and then just getting back into town. Atlanta also got a 1¢ sales tax increase for improvement of roads. No need to audit where the money is going now, the man on the street tells me he'll gladly give 1¢ over to make the roads better (because he's too stupid to realize that it's 1% tax on top of all of the other 1% taxes we have - UGH).

Anyway, they're doing "studies" now on the roads with no changes in sight. Also, they're encouraging people to bike/use other transportation (which doesn't work) by removing lanes / replacing them with bike lanes/side walks. They did this in California. It's called a street diet or traffic diet or some such nonsense.

WAY off topic from the monorails but, to be fair, nothing is happening there, either, other than rumors of contracts and whatnot for a fleet that should have been replaced 10 years back.... doesn't affect tickets, though.

 

[JoeCamel]

Y'all are such creative discussers, LOL! I will say though, the trains have been getting their much needed TLC, last I recall and heard... No telling which is next though. Either way, I'm ALL for supporting new trains and whatnot, but unless Disney decided to play secret, we all know for sure that those trains would be posted etc etc etc. I know I'd made jokes about it, but it's just what it is...

IF there's new trains in the works, and Disney DOES want to play secret secret, you still have to consider purchase options, design options, length of build time, which then feeds what they're doing to the current fleet now...

If new trains are to be a thing (and I'm not saying they are or aren't (though I wish they were)), there's a fair amount of work to go into getting those new trains, which means they're sprucing up the current fleet to handle the next few years... That's of course, if it's a thing... I know some things, but don't quote me on THIS information.

Back to what I said though, if there's new trains, my opinion is an updated version of the paint scheme!!

Nothing wrong with the paint or the design of the cars. It is iconic but the hardware does need updating.