SEATTLE -- The Seattle monorail crash has left the city without one of its biggest tourist attractions during the holiday shopping season.

The mile-long line connects the Seattle Center with the downtown retail core.

Seattle Center spokesman Perry Cooper said he expects merchants on both ends of the route will be affected.

"We're disappointed just like the merchants here at Westlake Center and our merchants at Seattle Center that this is a difficult time for us to have this kind of situation happen. It's the very start of the winter season."

A manager at a clothing store said the store would normally be doing a healthy business on the weekend after Thanksgiving.

"The tourists that ride the monorail that come to Westlake and come over here to see our store, that's most of our business right there," said Terry Henderson of Rochester Big & Tall Shop.

Near Westlake Center, carriage drivers said their business could increase as holiday shoppers look for a substitute for a monorail ride.

"She got three rides immediately after the monorail broke down, so it might be good for us," said June Branch, a carriage driver.

There is no word on when the 43-year-old monorail line might reopen.