| DFW is proud to debut
the first car of the largest airport train system in the world
- a 39-foot, 69-passenger electric-powered vehicle that will
zip travelers between DFW's existing four terminals and future
terminals D and F with an average passenger ride time of five
minutes. On May 6, Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, DFW Airport Board
Chairman Robert Kolba and DFW CEO Jeff Fegan cut the ribbon
that unleashed a crane-driven drape and unveiled the Winnebago-sized
vehicle to 500 dignitaries at the Airport.
"Our people-mover system will completely revolutionize
travel around DFW Airport and give our passengers faster service
and quicker connecting options as they navigate the world's
third busiest airport," says Fegan. "The system
will be secure and simple to use, covering nearly five miles
of track."
 The
system was built with our passengers in the mind, and with
65-percent of DFW's passengers connecting through the Airport,
the APM will certainly make travel easier and more convenient.
Twelve stations, two in each terminal, will make the wait
for a train just two minutes. The 64-car system, supplied
by Bombardier Transportation, based in Montreal, Canada, will
travel in pairs at speeds reaching 35 miles per hour with
the capability of transporting 5,000 passengers per hour in
each direction on the first day it moves.
Ultimately, the system will go to trains of four cars each
and be capable of transporting 8,500 passengers per hour in
each direction. "Today marks the debut of Innovia, Bombardier's
new state-of-the-art airport people mover, innovation in passenger
comfort reliability. We at Bombardier are proud to be part
of the expansion at the largest airport in the southwest,
DFW," said John Mandelli, Project Director Bombardier
Transportation.
The elevated, bi-directional dual guideway system will open
the first quarter of 2005 and will operate on the secured
side of the terminals. The 26,000 linear feet of guideway
will have an average elevation of 50 feet above ground, and
will dramatically change the skyline of DFW Airport.
Work began on the APM guideway September 12, 2001. Building
the nearly five-mile guideway while keeping the Airport operational
has been a challenge, but more than 60 companies with more
than 1,000 employees are working shifts nearly around-the-clock
to make it happen.
"The construction of Terminal D and the APM represents
the largest on-going building project in the history of North
Texas," says Clay Paslay, executive vice president at
DFW, who oversees the $2.6 billion Capital Development Program
that includes the APM and Terminal D." These are Airport
improvements that our region can be proud of and will certainly
make our Airport more accessible to everyone from Texas and
around the world."
Click
here to view a virtual reality of the new people mover system. |
