The Cincinnati Airport People Mover or Underground Train 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. ...

that serves travelers of the

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is a public international airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. It serves the Cincinnati tri-state area. The airport's code, CVG, is derived from the nearest city at the time of ...

. 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

The Cincinnati Airport People Mover uses the same technology as the

ExpressTram The ExpressTram is an automated people mover system operating at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, in Romulus, Michigan, USA. The driverless system transports passengers along Concourse A of the airport's Edward H. McNamara Terminal, whi ...

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 ...

and the HubTram at

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport , also less commonly known as Wold-Chamberlain Field, is a joint civil-military public-use international airport located in Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, Minnesota, United States. Although s ...

History

In the early 1990s,

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 List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

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. 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). 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. Constructed and installed by the

Otis Elevator Company Otis Worldwide Corporation (trade name, 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 Farming ...

using its " Hovair"

hovertrain A hovertrain is a type of high-speed train that replaces conventional steel wheels with hovercraft lift pads, and the conventional railway bed with a paved road-like surface, known as the ''track'' or ''guideway''. The concept aims to eliminate ...

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. 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. 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. 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.

References

{{North American airport people movers Passenger rail transportation in Cincinnati Passenger rail transportation in Kentucky Airport people mover systems in the United States Hovair people movers Railway lines opened in 1994

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. ...

1994 establishments in Kentucky