The ExpressTram is an automated
people mover
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. ...
system operating at
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport, or simply DTW, is a major international airport in the United States covering effective December 30, 2021. in Romulus, Michigan. It is the primary ...
, in
Romulus, Michigan
Romulus is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,989 at the 2010 census. Romulus is a western suburb of Metro Detroit and is also considered part of the Downriver collection of communities. It is most not ...
, USA. The driverless system transports passengers along Concourse A of the airport's
Edward H. McNamara Terminal
Edward is an English language, English given name. It is derived from the Old English, Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements ''wikt:ead#Old English, ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and ''wikt:weard#Old English, weard'' "gua ...
, which is the world's second-longest airport concourse. Detroit Metro Airport serves as the second largest hub for
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
, after Atlanta.
History
Plans were announced for the McNamara Terminal in 1996 by Wayne County and
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
, who operated their largest hub in Detroit at the time. The McNamara Terminal was designed to accommodate Northwest's hub operation, which was previously housed in the airport's Davey Terminal. As part of the design, a people mover on the upper level of Concourse A was planned to help transport passengers quickly thorough the concourse. The people mover, which was eventually named ExpressTram, was the world's first airport people mover to operate on the inside of a terminal building, and not outdoors or in tunnels like other airports.
The ExpressTram entered service when the McNamara Terminal opened on February 24, 2002. The two trams on the system were painted red because Northwest Airlines' primary branding color was red. Northwest merged with
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
in 2010, who continues to operate the Detroit hub. Despite the merger, the trams have retained their red color, but new Delta logos replace the Northwest ones.
The trams were refurbished in early 2019.
Technology
The system was custom designed by Poma-Otis Transportation Systems, a joint venture between
Otis Elevator Company
Otis Worldwide Corporation ( branded as the Otis Elevator Company, its former legal name) is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and related equipment.
Based in Farmington, Connec ...
and
Poma
Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peop ...
that has since been dissolved. Installation was performed by Otis, who currently operates and maintains the system.
The system operates above the main floor, and it consists of two
cable-driven trams that
ride upon an air-cushion, similar to a
hovercraft. 3-PSI of air pressure is enough to lift the tram vehicles approximately 1/2" above the guideway surface. (The same "
Hovair" technology is used in the
Hub Tram and the
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 ...
) Each tram is made up of two cars and can carry up to 208 passengers at a time. The track, referred to as a guideway in the APM industry, is over long.
LED display
A LED display is a flat panel display that uses an array of light-emitting diodes as pixels for a video display. Their brightness allows them to be used outdoors where they are visible in the sun for store signs and billboards. In recent ...
s in the stations, and in the trams, provide information, such as the upcoming stops, supplemented with a pre-recorded male voice which delivers audio information and warnings.
Route
The ExpressTram services three stations along Concourse A. The stations at the ends of the concourse are appropriately named the North Station (which serves gates A56-A78) and the South Station (which serves gates A1-A28). The center station serves gates A29-A55, Luggage Claim, Ground Transportation, and Concourses B and C. The center station is officially known as the Terminal Station, based upon its close proximity to the main terminal building, which houses baggage claim, airline check-in counters, and ground transportation facilities. A maintenance garage lies beyond the North Station.
The system's primary infrastructure consists of a single guide-way. At the Terminal station, a bypass guideway splits from the main guideway allowing the two trams to pass each other. The Terminal station has an
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
between the main guideway and the bypass. Operating software attempts to keep the trams synchronized, so that the trams arrive at the Center Station simultaneously, but this is not essential. In the event that trams lose synchronization, as is frequently the case with passenger induced delays, the first tram to arrive at the Center station will be held until the opposite tram enters the bypass area, providing a clear path for the waiting tram.
See also
*
Transportation in metropolitan Detroit
Transportation in metropolitan Detroit is provided by a system of transit services, airports, and an advanced network of freeways which interconnect the city of Detroit and the Detroit region. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) a ...
References
Overhead Tram Ferries Travelers(Detroit News)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Chronological History(Associated Press)
Wayne County Airport Authority
External links
ExpressTram Video #1(YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
)
ExpressTram Video #2(YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
)
{{Michigan railroads
Airport people mover systems in the United States
Transportation in Detroit
Hovair people movers