Airport Transit System

Last updated

Airport Transit System
Airport Transit System (logo).png
Airport Transit System Bombardier Innovia.jpg
A Bombardier Innovia APM 256 undergoing testing in May 2021
Overview
OwnerChicago Department of Aviation
Locale O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
Termini
  • Airline Terminal #1 (westbound)
  • Consolidated Rental Car Facility
Stations5
Website Official website
Service
Type People mover
Operator(s)Chicago Department of Aviation
Rolling stockBombardier Innovia APM 256
History
OpenedMay 6, 1993 (1993-05-06) [1]
ClosedJanuary 8, 2019 (2019-01-08) [2] [3]
ReopenedNovember 3, 2021 (2021-11-03) [4]
Technical
Line length3 mi (4.8 km)
Number of tracks2
CharacterElevated
Track gauge 1,880 mm (6 ft 2 in)
Electrification Third rail,  750 V DC
Operating speed50 mph (80 km/h)
Route map
Airport Transit System Airport Transit System highlighted in dark blue
Legend
BSicon RP42+n.svg
BSicon RP4c3.svg
BSicon uhKINTa.svg
 Multi-Modal Facility
Metramlogo.svg
BSicon RP4c1.svg
BSicon RP4e+4.svg
BSicon uhSKRZ-G4.svg
US 12.svgUS 45.svg US 12  / US 45 (
Mannheim
Road
)
BSicon uehBHF.svg
Remote Parking
BSicon uhSTR+l.svg
BSicon uhKBHFeq.svg
BSicon uhSTR.svg
 Terminal 1
BSicon uhBHF.svg
BSicon tKHSTaq blue.svg
BSicon ldRP4O-L.svg
BSicon dvRP2q.svg
BSicon tSTReq blue.svg
BSicon vRP2q.svg
BSicon STR+r blue.svg
BSicon vRP2+r.svg
BSicon uhSTR.svg
 Terminal 2 │ CTA Station
Chicago Transit Authority Logo.svg
BSicon uhSTRl.svg
BSicon uhBHFq.svg
BSicon uhSTR+r.svg
BSicon STR blue.svg
BSicon vRP2.svg
BSicon uhSTR.svg
 Terminal 3
BSicon uhSTR.svg
BSicon STRl blue.svg
BSicon vRP2l.svg
BSicon STRq blue.svg
BSicon MSTR.svg
BSicon uhSTR.svg
BSicon vRP2q.svg
I-190.svg I-190 │ Blue to Forest Park
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Maintenance facility
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 Terminal 5
This diagram:

The Airport Transit System (ATS) is an automated people mover system at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. It opened on May 6, 1993. The ATS moves passengers between the airport terminals and parking facilities, and was designed to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system was closed for refurbishment and modernization between January 2019 and November 2021. [4]

Contents

History

Planning and construction

A Former VAL256 ATS Train In 1996 19960524 03 O'Hare Airport (5437782448).jpg
A Former VAL256 ATS Train In 1996

In 1982, O'Hare officials unveiled the O'Hare Development Plan, a plan to expand the airport with a new international terminal (now called Terminal 5), and an expansion of the domestic terminals. The new international terminal, located away from the domestic terminals, necessitated the creation of a people mover to allow for connections between domestic and international flights. The system was also intended to provide connections to distant parking facilities. [5] The City of Chicago first awarded the contract for the people mover system to Westinghouse Electric, the second lowest bidder, in 1985. [6] After simplifying their initial proposal in response to concerns from City, the contract was re-awarded to low bidder Matra. [7] Ground was broken in 1987 by Mayor Harold Washington, who also died that year. The system ultimately opened in May 1993. [8]

Modernization and extension

As part of a larger, $800 million project involving a new integrated transit center, the ATS began a modernization project in 2018. The expansion included replacing the existing 15-car fleet with 36 new Bombardier Innovia APM 256 vehicles, upgrading the previous infrastructure, and extending the line 2,000 feet (610 m) to the new Multi-Modal Facility on the east side of U.S. 12–45 (Mannheim Road). [9] [10] Previously, the line ended at Remote Parking. The system closed in January 2019 for construction and testing of the planned modernization, with airport-funded shuttle buses running in public trafficways servicing the destinations previously serviced by the ATS. [2] [11] [12] Originally, the ATS was to reopen by Fall of 2019, but this was delayed several times due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, contract disputes, and reliability. The Chicago Department of Aviation reopened the system in November 2021 with a limited schedule. [4] The system returned to 24 hour service in April 2022. [13]

Service

The Airport Transit System operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. [13] The system is free to users and connects O'Hare's terminals to parking lots, and the consolidated rental car facility.

The system is in a "pinched-loop" configuration, which allows more than one train to travel along a track at once while providing service in both directions. [14] The entire system uses platform screen doors, preventing people from leaving the platform, falling on the tracks or tampering with restricted areas.[ citation needed ]

The system's 36 cars are joined into 3-car trains, with each train able to carry up to 147 passengers. [13]

Stations

ATS stations are fully accessible and provide access to the elevated ATS tracks. The system has two tracks, and each train stops at all five stations traveling in both directions. Its west end is at Terminal 1, at the west end of the terminal core, and it makes a counterclockwise loop around the parking garage with stops at Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. Parking Garage A (the main garage) is accessible from any of the three terminal stations, as is the O'Hare terminal of the CTA's Blue Line. Parking Lots B and C are only accessible from Terminal 1 and 3 stations, respectively. It takes 10 minutes to travel from Terminal 1 to the consolidated rental car facility. [13]

Outside the terminal loop, the ATS travels east to Terminal 5, the airport's international terminal. It then turns north, crosses over the main access road and Blue Line, and crosses Mannheim Road to reach the consolidated rental car facility, which is the terminal for Pace bus routes 250 and 330. The facility also connects with the O'Hare Transfer station on Metra's North Central Service, providing commuter rail service to Chicago Union Station inbound and Antioch outbound during service hours. Currently, the Metra station is open on weekdays only. [15]

Fleet

Interior of newly operated Innovia APM256 Cars in 2021 O'Hare ATS (New Fleet) Interior.png
Interior of newly operated Innovia APM256 Cars in 2021

The ATS originally used the French-based VAL technology, which features fully automated, rubber-tired people mover cars that previously saw use on the Jacksonville Skyway until 1989. The system is capable of traveling at speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h), and now uses 12 3-car Bombardier Innovia APM 256 trains, which replaced the previous 15 Matra VAL 256 vehicles. [16]

As of 2023, the previous 15 VAL trains are sitting in a vacant lot on airport property near Irving Park Road and Taft Avenue. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People mover</span> Fully automated transit systems, generally serving relatively small areas

A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Véhicule Automatique Léger</span>

Véhicule Automatique Léger or VAL is a type of driverless (automated), rubber-tyred, medium-capacity rail transport system. The technology was developed at the Lille University of Science and Technology, was marketed by Matra, and first used in the early 1980s for the Lille Metro system, one of the world's first fully automated mass-transit rail networks, preceded only by the Port Island Line in Kobe, Japan. The VAL technology is now marketed by Siemens, which acquired Matra in the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automated guideway transit</span> Fully automated transit system

An automated guideway transit (AGT) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more driverless vehicles along its length. The vehicles are often rubber tired or steel wheeled, but other traction systems including air cushion, suspended monorail and maglev have been implemented. The guideway provides both physical support, like a road, as well as the guidance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AirTrain (San Francisco International Airport)</span> People mover at San Francisco International Airport

AirTrain is a fully automated people mover at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) that opened on February 24, 2003. It operates 24 hours a day on two separate lines, covering a total of three miles (4.8 km). The service charges no fares; it is funded by a fee charged to rental car customers. The system is located outside of the sterile area of each terminal, meaning passengers must exit and re-enter through a security checkpoint when using AirTrain to travel between terminals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elevated railway</span> Rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level

An elevated railway or elevated train is a railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure. The railway may be broad-gauge, standard-gauge or narrow-gauge railway, light rail, monorail, or a suspension railway. Elevated railways are normally found in urban areas where there would otherwise be multiple level crossings. Usually, the tracks of elevated railways that run on steel viaducts can be seen from street level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innovia APM 100</span> Automated people mover manufactured by Bombardier

The Innovia APM 100 is an automated people mover (APM) rolling stock first developed by Westinghouse, intended mainly for airport connections and light rail in towns. They are operated by Automatic Train Control (ATC), making it fully automatic and driverless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DFW Skylink</span> Automated people mover at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Skylink is an automated people mover (APM) operating at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). It is an application of the Innovia APM 200 system, and is maintained and operated by Alstom. When it opened in 2005, it was the world's longest airside airport train system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyway (George Bush Intercontinental Airport)</span> People mover system in Houston, Texas

Skyway is an automated people mover system operating at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The system is 0.7 miles (1.1 km) long, and runs along the north side of the airport, beyond airport security. The system serves all of the airport's five terminals, with four stations at Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminal C, and International Terminal D/E, respectively. Skyway, which operates airside, is one of two people movers currently operating at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The other people mover, which operates landside, opened in 1969 and is known as the Subway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh International Airport People Movers</span>

The Pittsburgh International Airport People Mover is a fully automated people mover system at the Pittsburgh International Airport serving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Hare Transfer station</span> Railway station in Chicago, Illinois, serving OHare International Airport

O'Hare Transfer is a commuter railroad station along Metra's North Central Service that serves Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The station is 18.6 miles (29.9 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the line. As of 2018, O'Hare Transfer is the 183rd busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 113 weekday boardings. The station is located at the dead end of Zemke Boulevard east of Mannheim Road (US 12/US 45) outside the northeast corner of the airport's Multi-Modal Facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Reid International Airport Automated People Movers</span>

The Harry Reid International Airport People Movers are three separate automatic people mover systems operating at Harry Reid International Airport near Las Vegas, Nevada. The people mover system consists of three separate lines: the Green Line connecting the Main Terminal to the C Gate Concourse, the Blue Line connecting the Main Terminal to the D Gate Concourse, and the Red Line connecting the D Gates Concourse to Terminal 3. Each line currently uses CITYFLO650 radio-based moving block signaling technology, which was introduced to the tram system when the Green and Blue Lines when the vehicles were replaced, the Red Line has always used moving block signaling technology as it opened in 2012 and it is the newest of the three lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEA Underground</span> People mover system at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

The SEA Underground, formerly called the Satellite Transit System (STS), is an automated people mover (APM) system operating in the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Washington, United States. Originally opening in 1973, the SEA Underground is one of the oldest airport people mover systems in the world. The APM was designed to quickly transport passengers to and from the North and South Satellites, and around the airport's Main Terminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innovia APM 200</span>

The Innovia APM 200 is an automated people mover system (APM) manufactured and marketed by Bombardier Transportation. It was second generation of Innovia APM offered and is part of Alstom's Innovia series of fully automated transportation systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PHX Sky Train</span> Electric people mover at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

The PHX Sky Train is an electric people mover at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The initial segment opened to the public on April 8, 2013. The first extension to Terminal 3 opened on December 8, 2014, and the second extension to the Rental Car Center opened on December 20, 2022. The 24/7 service operates free of charge, with trains running every 3–5 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taipei Metro VAL256</span>

The Taipei Metro VAL 256 is the first generation of automated guideway transit rolling stock to be used on the Wenhu (Brown) line of Taipei Metro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innovia APM</span> Automated people mover system

Innovia APM is a rubber-tired automated people mover system (APM) currently manufactured and marketed by Alstom as part of its Innovia series of fully automated transportation systems. The technology was introduced in 1963 by Westinghouse and has been improved over three generations: the Innovia APM 100, Innovia APM 200, and the latest model, the Innovia APM 300. The license to use the technology has also passes hands several times, from Westinghouse to AEG in 1988, to Adtranz in 1996, to Bombardier Transportation in 2001, and most recently to Alstom in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innovia APM 256</span> Rolling stock of Taipei Metro Wenhu Line and OHare ATS

The Bombardier INNOVIA APM 256 is the second generation of automated guideway transit rolling stock to be used on Wenhu line of the Taipei Metro. They are distinguished from their predecessors, Matra VAL256, by their circular front headlights and a grey livery, with a green stripe above. Also, instead of yellow forward-facing seats, the train offers blue seats that face inward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa International Airport People Movers</span>

The Tampa International Airport People Movers are a set of automated people mover systems operating within Tampa International Airport. The primary set of people movers are automated guideway transit (AGT) systems that connect the airport's main terminal to four satellite airside concourses. Opened in 1971, the landside/airside shuttles were the first people movers used to transport passengers within an airport terminal and it is today Bombardier Transportation's longest running people mover system. A fifth people mover line known as SkyConnect, which began operating in 2018, connects the main terminal with the airport's economy parking garage and rental car center. In addition, a monorail once connected the main terminal and the long-term parking garage from 1991 until its closure in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heathrow Terminal 5 Transit</span> Automated people mover at London Heathrow Airport

The Heathrow Terminal 5 Transit is an automated people mover system (APM) at London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom. It operates in the Heathrow Terminal 5 complex and conveys air passengers between the main airport terminal and its satellite buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LAX Automated People Mover</span> Under construction automated people mover system around the Los Angeles International Airport area

The LAX Automated People Mover is an under construction automated people mover (APM) system around the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) area. The system will be owned by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and operated by LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS). The system will run for 2.25 miles (3.62 km) and have six stations that connect the LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC), the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, and the LAX West Intermodal Transportation Facility with the airport's central terminal area (CTA).

References

  1. ↑ Fornek, Scott (May 6, 1993). "Moving Experience Ready at O'Hare". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 4. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Wisniewski, Mary (December 31, 2018). "O'Hare 'people mover' will shut down completely until the fall". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  3. ↑ Martin, Kye (November 4, 2019). "Reopening of 'People Mover' at O'Hare Airport Delayed Again". NBC Chicago. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Freishtat, Sarah (November 2, 2021). "After years of delays, O'Hare's 'people mover' to reopen Wednesday on a limited schedule". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  5. ↑ O'Hare Development Program. Chicago, Illinois: City of Chicago. 1982. p. 10.
  6. ↑ Frantz, Douglas (May 21, 1985). "City Takes Step Back on People Mover Bid". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  7. ↑ Baquet, Dean (September 17, 1985). "'People Mover' Sweepstakes". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  8. ↑ Washburn, Gary (May 6, 1993). "O'Hare Set to Really Move You". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Bombardier to Supply INNOVIA Automated People Mover System to Chicago O'Hare International Airport". bombardier.com. Bombardier Transportation. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  10. ↑ Wisniewski, Mary (May 24, 2018). "Get ready for buses at O'Hare this year as 'people mover' gets rehab". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  11. ↑ Martin, Kye (November 4, 2019). "Reopening of 'People Mover' at O'Hare Airport Delayed Again". NBC Chicago. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  12. ↑ Bradley, Ben (May 19, 2021). "'It's a disgrace, frankly': The O'Hare trains to nowhere". WGN-TV. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Freishtat, Sarah (April 18, 2022). "After years of construction, O'Hare 'people mover' resumes 24-hour service". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  14. ↑ Elliott, Dennis M.; Norton, Jack (1999). "An introduction to airport APM systems". Journal of Advanced Transportation. 33 (1): 35–50. doi:10.1002/atr.5670330105. ISSN   2042-3195. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  15. ↑ "O'Hare International Airport Visitors Guide" (PDF). October 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
  16. ↑ Gary, Dennis; Art Peterson. A technology alternative to the VAL system on the O'Hare Airport Transit System (OATS). Proceedings of the 2000 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference, Newark, NJ, USA, 2000. IEEE. doi:10.1109/RRCON.2000.870001. S2CID   109698833. Paid subscription
  17. ↑ What Happened to the Old O’Hare ATS? , retrieved December 23, 2023
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