Cincinnati Airport People Mover

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.

Cincinnati Airport People Mover
The People Mover at CVG, which connects the Main Terminal to Concourse A and B
Overview
OwnerKenton County Airport Board
LocaleCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Hebron, Kentucky
Termini
  • Main Terminal
  • Concourse B
Stations3
Service
TypePeople mover
Rolling stock2 × Otis Hovair
History
OpenedJune 9, 1994[1]
Technical
Line length1,549 feet (472 m)[1]
Route map

 Main Terminal
Concourse A
Concourse B

Technology

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

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
  1. Kreimer, Peggy (June 10, 1994). "New shuttle zooms into action to connect Delta concourses". The Cincinnati Post. pp. 14A.
  2. "The Death and Rebirth of Memphis (MEM) and Cincinnati (CVG)". Airline Geeks. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. Rawe, Dick (1991-09-17). "Otis to build Delta underground train". The Cincinnati Post. pp. 6B.
  4. Keefe, Brendan (9 November 2010). "Cincinnati's Shrinking Airport - WCPO I-Team Investigation". WCPO 9 News. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. "Ground Control". May 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  6. Kenton County Airport Board. "Fast Facts: Going the Distance". Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
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