MN Zoo Monorail Stuck With Passengers
By Adam Carter, NewsRadio 830 WCCO
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Some Minnesota Zoo-goers looking to get a bird's-eye view Friday wound up becoming the exhibit themselves. The elevated train they were on lost power shortly after leaving the station.
The 40 passengers, a mix of children and adults, spent two hours on the train before Apple Valley firefighters were able to get them out. The passengers had to climb down ladders 18 feet to the ground.
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Bill Von Bank, spokesman for the Minnesota Zoo, said the train stopped in a bad spot.
"We do have a maintenance vehicle if stalls do occur on the track. Unfortunately (the monorail) stalled on the switch-track, so we weren't able to pull the maintenance vehicle out to pull the monorail back to the station."
Even though power to the train was out, the cars remained heated for the two hours. No one was injured, and Von Bank says the passengers had their entrance fees refunded and they were provided free passes.
Von Bank said the monorail will be out of service for the remainder of Friday, but they hope to have it running again Saturday.
