TowersStreet has been hearing rumours that the Monorail at Alton Towers, which is a popular transport ride used to take guests from the hotels and upper car parks to the park entrance, has been suffering from downtime following an incident on Sunday 5th August.
The story first came to light following posts made by visitors of the park on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, which all suggested they had been involved in an incident of some kind on the Monorail. This appeared to later be confirmed on Monday morning when the Monorail did not open for the duration of the day, with guests having to walk to and from the hotels and car parks, and trains sat out on the track and in the stations.
Since then there has been much speculation and many rumours circulating within the enthusiast community. However, an increasing number of sources are currently suggesting that the incident occurred following a fault involving the switch track (A section of track found on many roller coasters and similar rides, which moves in order to take one of more vehicles out of the circuit).
TowersStreet Team members on park today reported sightings of park technicians and tools surrounding the Monorail switch track area, which is located along the path between Gloomy Wood and Forbidden Valley. This coupled with reports of a sudden and abrupt stop which threw riders around inside the carriages seems to point towards a problem arising in this area.
The exact details of this event are yet to be confirmed by the park or health and safety officials, and the bringing about of the incident remains something of a mystery. One theory is that the switch track became dislodged or moved during operation (whether this is down to mechanical or operator error is still unknown) and a train travelling back to the hotel station from Towers Street struck this section, causing it to come to an abrupt halt, and possibly even de-railing.
It is unconfirmed whether or not there have been any substantial injuries from the accident, though posts made by those riding seem to suggest riders were thrown from their seats when the train stopped, resulting on bumps and bruises. Any more serious injuries are yet to surface.
TowersStreet will be on hand to bring you all the latest developments in both this and other Resort goings on as they come.
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