Subway (George Bush Intercontinental Airport)

Last updated
Subway
Overview
StatusOperational
Owner Houston Airport System
Locale George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas
Termini
  • Terminal A (west)
  • Terminal D / E (east)
Stations8 (in 5 locations)
Service
Type People mover
Operator(s)JBT AeroTech
Rolling stock WEDway
Daily ridership13,000
History
Opened 1969, rebuilt 1981
Technical
Track lengthapprox. 2 miles (3.2 km)
Number of tracks1 (in circular route)
CharacterUnderground
Electrification None (passive trains)
Operating speed15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Route map

Contents

BSicon numN090.svg
BSicon utvSTR-.svg
BSicon ulvDST@G-.svg
BSicon utvWSLa.svg
BSicon 4HUBa@G~FFq.svg
BSicon lv-ACC.svg
BSicon 4HUBa@Gq.svg
BSicon utvSTRfg.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon uhKACCa.svg
BSicon FLUG.svg
Terminal A
BSicon uetvACC.svg
BSicon uhSTR.svg
Parking Area 2
(
garage open;
station closed
)
BSicon 4HUBa@G~FFq.svg
BSicon lvACC.svg
BSicon 4HUBa@Gq.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon uhACC.svg
BSicon FLUG.svg
Terminal B
BSicon uhKDSTaq.svg
BSicon lhMSTRq.svg
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
BSicon uhABZgr+r.svg
Maintenance facility
BSicon lvACC.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
BSicon uhSTR.svg
Houston Airport Marriott
BSicon 4HUBa@G~FFq.svg
BSicon BUS.svg
BSicon lvACC.svg
BSicon 4HUBa@Gq.svg
BSicon utvSTR.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon uhACC.svg
BSicon FLUG.svg
Terminal C
BSicon 4HUBa@G~FFq.svg
BSicon lv-ACC.svg
BSicon 4HUBa@Gq.svg
BSicon utvSTRfg.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon uhKACCe.svg
BSicon FLUG.svg
Terminal D/
Terminal E
BSicon utvWSLe.svg

BSicon utACCq.svg
Subway (landside)
BSicon uhACCq.svg
Skyway (airside)

The Subway (formerly known as the inter-terminal train) is the older of the two separate inter-terminal people movers operating at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas. Opened in 1969 along with the airport, the train system was replaced in 1981 with the current WEDway system, built by WED Transportation Systems, a division of what is now known as Walt Disney Imagineering. The Subway serves approximately 240,000 passengers per month, for a yearly ridership averaging 2.9 million. [1] It is built underground and serves landside traffic, unlike the newer Skyway, which is elevated and operates airside.

The Subway is notable as the only WEDway people mover built by the Walt Disney Company outside of a Disney property. It uses much of the mechanical technology used by the PeopleMover, an attraction in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland. The design permits the trains to make tight corners that are necessary along portions of the basement route. Like their Disney counterparts, the trains are completely unpowered, relying on linear induction motors in the track for propulsion. [2] Platform screen doors at each station have a special mechanism unlocking the trains' doors, and on-train station announcements and audible warning messages are provided by a trackside audio system through openings in the tops of the vehicle car-bodies.

Eight three-car trains are used on the system, of which six operate at any single time with three-minute headways at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). They stop at eight stations in a circuit serving every terminal and the Houston Airport Hotel, for a round-trip time of 18 minutes. [3] The system is currently maintained and operated by JBT Aerotech.

Houston Airport System, the owner of the airport, is conducting preliminary studies of potential new systems to replace the Subway, as both it and major airlines serving the airport have determined that the cost of operating and maintaining the system is no longer viable. [4]

See also

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">George Bush Intercontinental Airport</span> Main airport serving Houston, Texas, United States

George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Initially named Houston Intercontinental Airport upon its opening in 1969, it was renamed in honor of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and a resident of Houston, in 1997.

<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. An automated line can be cheaper to run than a conventional line, due to the shorter trains and stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PeopleMover (Disneyland)</span> Former attraction at Disneyland

The PeopleMover, sometimes referred to as the Goodyear PeopleMover and WEDWay PeopleMover, was a transport attraction that opened on July 2, 1967, in Tomorrowland at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Guests boarded small trains that ran on elevated tracks for a "grand circle tour" above Tomorrowland. The term "people mover", now in wider use to describe many forms of automated public transport, was first coined as the name for this attraction. PeopleMover was originally only a working title, but became attached to the project over time. The attraction was initially seen as a serious prototype for intercity public transport. The ride closed on August 21, 1995, but its station and track infrastructure—which it shared with its short-lived successor, Rocket Rods—remain standing as of 2024. A second PeopleMover opened on July 1, 1975 in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida near Orlando, Florida, and is still operating today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PeopleMover (Magic Kingdom)</span> Attraction at Walt Disney World

The PeopleMover is an attraction in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando, Florida. Designed as an urban mass-transit system of the future, vehicles take passengers on a grand circle tour of the realm of Tomorrowland that provides elevated views of several other attractions.

<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">Disneyland Monorail</span> Transit line at the Disneyland Resort

The Disneyland Monorail is an attraction and transportation line at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It was the first daily operating monorail in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changi Airport Skytrain</span> Automated people mover system in Singapore Changi Airport

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.

<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) system 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">Aerotrain (KLIA)</span>

The Aerotrain is an automated people mover system located within the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.

<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">The Plane Train</span> Airside people mover at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport

The Plane Train is an automated people mover system located at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, connecting the two terminals and seven airside concourses of the airport. Made by Westinghouse Electric Corporation and maintained by Bombardier, the system is the world's most heavily traveled airport people mover.

WEDway is a people mover system using linear induction motor (LIM) technology to propel vehicles along a pair of steel rails.

<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. It 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">Vought Airtrans</span> Former automated people mover at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuttle train</span> Train that runs between two points over a short route

A shuttle train is a train that runs back and forth between two points, especially if it offers a frequent service over a short route. Shuttle trains are used in various ways, in various parts of the world. They commonly operate as a fixed consist, and run non-stop between their termini. They can be used to carry passengers, freight, or both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando International Airport People Movers</span> Automated transit system

The Orlando International Airport People Movers are a set of five automated people mover (APM) systems operating within Orlando International Airport. Four of the systems, dubbed Gate Links, connect the airport's main terminal to four satellite airside concourses. The fifth, dubbed the Terminal Link, connects the main terminal to the Intermodal Terminal.

<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">MIA e Train</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit</span> Automated people mover linking terminals at Gatwick Airport

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.

References

  1. "IAH Gaining Ground on Replacing Subway Train". Houston Airport System. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. Turner, D. B.; Wolf, W. L. (1982). "Houston WEDway PeopleMover control and propulsion system". 32nd IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference. 32: 407–419. doi:10.1109/VTC.1982.1623051. S2CID   21475949.
  3. McKenna, Bonnie (29 May 2007). "All aboard for a trip on the underground train". The Tribune. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  4. "2012-2016 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN" (PDF). City of Houston - Aviation Department. Retrieved April 24, 2015.