DALLAS -- The Dallas Zoo's monorail will be closed for evaluation after 48 passengers had to be rescued while riding it earlier this week.
The Monorail Safari has been in service for more than 24 years. Last Wednesday it suffered a malfunction after a power surge -- forcing zoo patrons to climb down 12-foot ladders.
On Friday officials announced that the train will remain closed so crews can explore what happened and make necessary changes.
'Our emergency plan worked exactly as it should have Wednesday during this unfortunate incident,' said President and CEO of the Dallas Zoo, Gregg Hudson. 'However, as one of the nation's leading zoos, we won't rest until we get answers about anything that affects our visitors' experience. This comprehensive evaluation will give us the information we need to decide about the monorail moving forward.'
The zoo says it hopes to have a contract signed with a firm next week, and the evaluation will most likely last for several weeks. While the train is out of service, guests can use their monorail coupons to ride the Safari Express mini-train instead.
The monorail has three low-speed electric trains with 13 cars each. They travel at 3 mph on a loop around the 106-acre zoo.
This isn't the first time the Monorail Safari unexpectedly stopped, stranding riders. The zoo suffered the same issue inSeptember 2011 and February 2013.
