The Aerotrén is a cable-propelled people mover operating at Mexico City International Airport, near

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The automated people mover (APM) provides a link between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Opened in 2007, it was part of a major expansion to the airport, which is the busiest in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. The link is only designed to transfer passengers connecting between flights, who must be in possession of and show a valid boarding pass.

Background

The Aerotrén airport link at Benito Juarez International Airport connects Terminal 1 with the new Terminal 2 which had been constructed on the opposite end of the runway from the existing terminal. The system is able to transport 540 transfer passengers per hour per direction (pphpd).

Construction

The Mexico City International Airport Automated People Mover System Project was started on August 12, 2005, when a contract was signed between the airport owners Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA) and DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car. The system was completed by November 2007 at a price of €52 million. The system was built and designed in a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with ' (ICA), Mexico's largest construction company. The area around Mexico City suffers from soil settlement, and this had to be allowed for. The elevated guideway structure has the ability to be adjusted for ground settlements. Steel adapters between the steel truss and the concrete columns allow later height adjustments to compensate for any ground movement.

Technology

A single-track, single train, Cable Liner shuttle design was chosen. The installed system is in length and operates at a speed of between the two terminal stations. Vehicles are connected to a cable, driven from under one of the stations, that propels, accelerates, and decelerates the train. The train is composed of four cars, each holding 26 passengers for a total of 104 passengers per train. An option was included for lengthening the original four car train to six cars, providing an increase from 540 pphpd up to 800 pphpd.

Operations

Only connecting passengers can use the system, who must have a valid flight boarding pass to board. Travel time is 5:45 minutes and the train pauses (dwells) for 60 seconds on each station. When the system closes for maintenance, passengers are ferried between both terminals in buses.

References

External links