Stansted Airport Transit System

Stansted Airport Transit System
Stansted Airport Transit System
	An Adtranz C-100 vehicle approaches the Terminal station
Overview
Locale	London Stansted Airport, Essex, England, UK
Transit type	Automated guideway transit/People mover
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	3
Daily ridership	36,000
Annual ridership	11.5 million
Website	Stansted Airport Terminal Guide
Operation
Began operation	1991
Operator(s)	Stansted Airport Limited
Character	Elevated (Main Terminal); Underground (Gates 1-39)
Rolling stock	5 × Adtranz C-100; 4 × Adtranz CX-100
Number of vehicles	8 in normal operation; 9 in total
Technical
System length	2 miles (3.2 km)
Electrification	Third rail
System map

Last updated April 17, 2024

The Stansted Airport Track Transit System (TTS) is a fully automated people mover system which operates within London Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom.^[1]

The transit system conveys air passengers between the main airport terminal and the departure/arrival gates, which are located some distance from the main terminal in satellite buildings. The system operates exclusively "airside", meaning that it can only be accessed by passengers who have first passed through airport security. The transit is provided free of charge, with easy access for disabled passengers and being electric far less polluting than the diesel buses that serve the car parks and remote aircraft stands.^[2]^[3]

It is planned to close and demolish the Stansted TTS in spring of 2026 as part of a redevelopment project, and replace the transit system with pedestrian bridges.^[4]

History

The Stansted Airport Transit System was opened in 1991. It was constructed as a result of the decision by the British Airports Authority (BAA) to redevelop the airport with an arrangement of satellite buildings detached from the main terminal. The BAA considered several options for conveying passengers safely and rapidly to the airport gates, including moving walkways, tunnels, bridges and bus links, before opting for an automated tracked transit system. After opening in 1991 the system was extended in 1998 with an additional two underground stations^{[ inconsistent with below ]}, to serve a second and a third satellite building.^[1]

Route

Guideway

The Stansted Airport TTS vehicles run along a double-track guideway totalling 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) in length^[1] which connects the main terminal building with three satellite buildings. The route begins on an elevated section alongside the departure lounge, before entering a tunnel which passes beneath the airport apron.^[5] There is a maintenance depot at one end.

Stations

The Transit System has three stations: Terminal (arrivals and departures), Gates 1–19 (Satellite 1 arrivals and departures) and Gates 20–39 (Satellite 2 arrivals and departures). Satellite 3 (Gates 40–59) is not served by the Transit System; instead a pedestrian footway links the gates with the main terminal.^[3]

Each station has segregated boarding and alighting platforms, allowing a more efficient passenger flow. All boarding points are equipped with platform screen doors.

Vehicles

5 Adtranz C-100 cars built by Westinghouse for the system, with car bodies built in Scotland by Walter Alexander before being shipped to Pittsburgh for assembly and testing, are still in service today. This was increased to 9 when 4 new Adtranz CX-100 cars were delivered during the 1998 expansion.^[1] During normal operation, eight out of the nine cars will be in service to maintain a 99.98% availability record.^[1]^[3] The cars can operate as single-, double-, or triple-unit trains that can be easily accessed by disabled passengers. The trains are fully automated and driverless, classed as a Grade of Automation level 4 (unattended) system and regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation. The Stansted TTS is currently the world's last remaining APM system to use the Adtranz C-100 rolling stock.

Planned closure

In April 2023, Manchester Airport Group, the owner of Stansted Airport, announced the Airport Route 43 project to expand the airport. As part of this scheme, the Stansted TTS would close in spring of 2026 and the track would be removed to make way for an extension to the terminal building.^[6] The plan is to replace the TTS system with pedestrian Sky Link bridges, so both outbound and inbound passengers would walk to their gates.^[4] During the development passengers will be transported on buses which will increase the journey time to the boarding gates.

Pictures

An Adtranz C-100 vehicle approaching the Main Terminal
Platform doors at a Transit station
Set of points for a crossover connecting the two tracks
A Transit vehicle in the tunnel section
Map of the Stansted Transit System
In-car route information signage
Aerial view of the airport, with the Transit line visible in front of the main terminal
C-100 vehicle on elevated guideway section

Related Research Articles

Personal rapid transit (PRT), also referred to as podcars or guided/railed taxis, is a public transport mode featuring small low-capacity automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guideways. PRT is a type of automated guideway transit (AGT), a class of system which also includes larger vehicles all the way to small subway systems. In terms of routing, it tends towards personal public transport systems.

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.

London Stansted Airport is the tertiary international airport serving London, England. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, 42 mi (68 km) northeast of Central London.

An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft.

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.

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.

The Changi Airport Skytrain is an automated people mover (APM) that connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at Singapore Changi Airport. Opened in 1990, it was the first driverless and automated system of its kind in South East Asia. The Changi Airport Skytrain operates from 05:00 to 02:30 daily. Traveling on the Skytrain is free and an inter-terminal journey takes approximately four minutes.

The Denver International Airport Automated Guideway Transit System is a people mover system operating at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado. The system opened along with the airport itself in 1995 and efficiently connects the distant concourses with the main terminal.

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.

Heathrow Terminal 5 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport, the main airport serving London. Opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Until 2012 the terminal was used solely by British Airways. It was then exclusively used as one of the three global hubs of IAG, served by British Airways and Iberia until 12 July 2022, when Iberia moved all flights to Terminal 3, leaving British Airways as sole user again.

LTV's (Vought) Airtrans was an automated people mover system that operated at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport between 1974 and 2005. The adaptable people mover was utilized for several separate systems: the Airport Train, Employee Train, American Airlines TrAAin and utility service. All systems utilized the same guideways and vehicle base but served different stations to create various routes.

The Dashaveyor was an automated guideway transit (AGT) system developed during the 1960s and '70s.

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 passed 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.

The Orlando International Airport People Movers are a set of automated people mover (APM) systems operating within Orlando International Airport. The four original people mover systems connect the airport's main terminal to four satellite airside concourses. A fifth AGT people mover system was installed in 2017 to connect the main terminal with the airport's new Intermodal Terminal.

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.

The MIA e Train is one of three automated people mover systems operating at Miami International Airport. The MIA e Train connects the satellite building of Concourse E with the rest of Concourse E which is connected to the main terminal. The system opened in 2016 replacing an earlier system and was built at a cost of $87 million.

The Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit is a 0.75-mile (1.21 km) long elevated automated people mover that links the North and South Terminals at London's Gatwick Airport. The line is ground-side, and besides linking the two terminals also serves to link the North terminal to the airport railway station. Although sometimes colloquially, but erroneously, known as a "monorail", the transit vehicles are carried on rubber tyres running on a concrete track with twin running surfaces and are steered by separate guide rails.

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.

The LAX Automated People Mover is an under construction automated people mover (APM) system that will serve the area around Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The system will be owned by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and operated by LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS). The line 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). The line was initially planned to open in 2023, but is now planned to open on October 30, 2025.

Shanghai Pudong Airport APM is an automated people mover in the Pudong International Airport. In the initial phase, there are two lines, each connecting a terminal building and a satellite hall. The two lines are planned to be connected after the completion of Terminal 3 in the future. The system uses Class A stocks, currently in a 4-car configuration, with conditions reserved for a 5-car configuration across the fleet.

References

1 2 3 4 5 "24. BAA Stansted, Airport Transit System, TTS – The Track Transit System" (PDF). Cambridge University/BAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
↑ "In The Terminal". Stansted Airport website. The Manchester Airports Group plc. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
1 2 3 Simons, Graham; Bowman, Martin W. (2011). London's Airports. Casemate Publishers. pp. 135–6. ISBN 9781848843943 . Retrieved 10 January 2018.
1 2 Morby, Aaron. "Plan in for Stansted airport terminal extension". Construction Enquirer. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
↑ Smiler, Simon. "Monorails, Maglevs and 'Cabin' Transports". citytransport.info. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
↑ "Section 62A Planning Application: S62A/2023/0022 - London Stansted Airport, Bassingbourn Road, Stansted CM24 1QW". GOV.UK. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.

51°53′21″N0°15′23″E / 51.8891°N 0.2565°E / 51.8891; 0.2565

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[cu-1] 1 2 3 4 5 "24. BAA Stansted, Airport Transit System, TTS – The Track Transit System" (PDF). Cambridge University/BAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2008.

[stansted-terminal-2] "In The Terminal". Stansted Airport website. The Manchester Airports Group plc. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.

[simons-3] 1 2 3 Simons, Graham; Bowman, Martin W. (2011). London's Airports. Casemate Publishers. pp. 135–6. ISBN 9781848843943 . Retrieved 10 January 2018.

[constructionenquirer-2023-4] 1 2 Morby, Aaron. "Plan in for Stansted airport terminal extension". Construction Enquirer. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.

[citytransport-5] Smiler, Simon. "Monorails, Maglevs and 'Cabin' Transports". citytransport.info. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.

[planning-app-2023-6] "Section 62A Planning Application: S62A/2023/0022 - London Stansted Airport, Bassingbourn Road, Stansted CM24 1QW". GOV.UK. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]