Today, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) provided a first look inside Elon Musk’s innovative underground transportation system located beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) campus. The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop will be available when LVCC welcomes its first major convention, World of Concrete, in June 2021.
The $52.5 million system will serve as quick way to move convention attendees throughout the more than 200-acre campus, all 40 feet beneath the ground in all-electric Tesla vehicles. The tunnels measure 13.5 feet outer diameter and 12 feet inner diameter. The company constructed two one-way, .8-mile vehicular tunnels and three passenger stations to connect the existing convention center campus to the 1.4 million square foot West Hall expansion. The tunnels are fully illuminated and include communications, fire life safety, and security monitoring systems. The track requires no electrified “third rail” (like most subways) as each vehicle is battery-powered; therefore, there are no touch hazards in the tunnel and the entire track can be used as a walkway for emergency exits.
The Convention Center Loop includes three passenger stations. The South Station is an above ground station east of the South Hall. The Central Station is a below ground station immediately adjacent to the Central Hall. The West Station is an above ground station directly west of the West Hall.
The Loop system includes a command center to monitor the system to assure a safe and comfortable experience. The Convention Center Loop utilizes all-electric Tesla vehicles including the Model 3 and the Model X. Passengers will load into vehicles capable of holding up to five people (though in light of COVID-19, vehicles operate with up to three passengers). It will take less than two minutes to carry passengers across the convention center campus; by foot it is upwards of a 25-minute walk.
The system will allow up to 4,400 convention attendees per hour to be whisked across the sprawling campus in just under two minutes. Instead, passengers are carried in all-electric Tesla vehicles to their destination. Vehicles have capacity to go 150 mph but will travel at 35-40 mph due to the short distance of the tunnels. The underground transportation system is complimentary for convention attendees. The underground transportation system will be staffed with drivers initially with the plan to operate them autonomously in the future.
