Cincinnati Airport People Mover
| Cincinnati Airport People Mover | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The People Mover at CVG, which connects the Main Terminal to Concourse A and B | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Kenton County Airport Board | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Hebron, Kentucky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini |
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| Stations | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | People mover | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | 2 × Otis Hovair | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | June 9, 1994[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 1,549 feet (472 m)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Cincinnati Airport People Mover or Underground Train is an automated people mover that serves travelers of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. It opened in 1994 to connect Terminal 3, now the Main Terminal, with Concourses A and B. The system was constructed by and was originally under the operation of Delta Air Lines.
Technology
[edit]The Cincinnati Airport People Mover uses the same technology as the ExpressTram at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and the HubTram at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.
History
[edit]In the early 1990s, Delta Air Lines invested over $500 million to develop the current terminal facility (known then as Terminal 3) in Cincinnati to support their hub operation, which at its peak was Delta's second-largest hub.[2] In September 1991, Delta announced that a people mover system would be installed to connect the new terminal and its airside Concourses A and B (the terminal also had a Concourse C, which was only accessed through shuttle buses).[3] The system was originally announced as consisting of a pair of passenger trains, consisting of three cars seating a maximum of 71 passengers apiece for a total of 213 passengers per train. The two trains shuttle back and forth on their own guideways between 3 stops: Main Terminal (Terminal 3), Concourse A and Concourse B round-trip.[1]
Constructed and installed by the Otis Elevator Company using its "Hovair" hovertrain technology, at the time of its construction this $16.7 million facility was only the sixth of its kind installed by Otis throughout the world.[3] The train would be inaugurated on following a dedication ceremony on June 9, 1994.
Delta downsized the hub in the late 2000s, which led to the closure of Concourse A in 2010. Upon the closure, the people mover operated with only one train, which then skipped the Concourse A station.[4] When Concourse A reopened for other airlines after the closure of Terminal 2 in 2012, the people mover was restored to its original service pattern with both trains operating.[5]
By 2008, the train had completed nearly 1.5 million round trips. It was capable of over 500 round trips daily, with trains departing every 90 seconds.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Kreimer, Peggy (June 10, 1994). "New shuttle zooms into action to connect Delta concourses". The Cincinnati Post. pp. 14A.
- ^ "The Death and Rebirth of Memphis (MEM) and Cincinnati (CVG)". Airline Geeks. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ a b Rawe, Dick (1991-09-17). "Otis to build Delta underground train". The Cincinnati Post. pp. 6B.
- ^ Keefe, Brendan (9 November 2010). "Cincinnati's Shrinking Airport - WCPO I-Team Investigation". WCPO 9 News. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ "Ground Control". May 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Kenton County Airport Board. "Fast Facts: Going the Distance". Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-10-18.