Jetrail
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Braniff Jetrail Fastpark System was a suspended
monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...
system that operated at Dallas Love Field in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas, United States, from April 18, 1970, until January 13, 1974. It was built by Stanray Corporation, Chicago, Illinois, for and operated by Braniff International Airways to transport passengers and their luggage from remote parking lots to the airport terminal. Jetrail was the world's first fully automated monorail transit system. The system, however, continued in operation when Braniff moved the majority of its operations to
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Ai ...
on January 13, 1974. Braniff continued to operate intrastate service from Love Field to both Houston Hobby and San Antonio International Airports, to compete with Southwest Airlines, until September 1, 1974. At that time, all Jetrail operations ceased.


History


System and operations

Jetrail was invented and designed by George Adams, president of Mobility Systems Control, Inc. of Los Angeles. Braniff International wanted an inexpensive automated system to carry people from a remote parking lot to Braniff's new "Terminal of the Future." The $2 million system consisted of ten fully air conditioned and heated suspended Jetrail Passenger Coaches, each with a capacity of 10 passengers (6 seated and 4 standing) plus hand baggage. Each Coach was painted in vibrant colors that matched those painted on Braniff's jet aircraft. The colors were designed by architect and designer
Alexander Girard Alexander Girard (May 24, 1907 – December 31, 1993), affectionately known as Sandro, was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer, industrial designer, and a textile designer. Early life He was born in New York City to an America ...
and the New York City design firm of Harper and George, but the general design of Jetrail's Air Coach and stanchion color schemes and interior areas were designed by the Airline's interior designer Chuck Ax. Two separate all-baggage cars were also used, allowing passengers to check luggage before boarding the vehicle.


Jetrail Stations

The system consisted of a single closed loop in length and elevated above ground with six switches. Bypass tracks were located at each end of the loop for vehicle storage and maintenance. Stations were located at the end of each loop: one in the parking lot and the other near the concourse gates. A third station was located on the line to the parking lot beside the baggage claim area. The total travel time averaged 3.5 minutes—much faster than buses and cars it replaced.


Passenger Usage

Forty-seven percent of Braniff's passengers used the system, with ridership of 4 million passengers in the first full year of operation and 2.5 million passengers in the last year of service. Over the life of the system, Jetrail moved over 10,000,000 passengers. The system logged an impressive 500,000 vehicle-miles per year and operated with a 99.9% reliability.


Passenger Selected Automatic Control

Jetrail was automatically controlled with elevator type buttons and demonstrated that a very lightweight guideway could be built and would adequately support the vehicles. Originally powered by rotary induction motors, the system was later adapted to
linear induction motor A linear induction motor (LIM) is an alternating current (AC), asynchronous linear motor that works by the same general principles as other induction motors but is typically designed to directly produce motion in a straight line. Characteristica ...
propulsion. Replacing the two rotary induction motors and the associated mechanical drive system with a single linear induction motor (LIM) producing four hundred pounds thrust reduced the shuttle car weight by one ton and the single LIM increased the car speed from seventeen to thirty six miles per hour.


Proposed Uses of Jetrail After Closure

Braniff International moved the majority of its operations to the new
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Ai ...
in January, 1974, which prompted the closure of Jetrail services after only four years of highly successful operation. Soon after closure, the Jetrail Fastpark Satellite Terminal was turned into a multilevel discothèque in 1975. The city of
Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
, considered using the system for an urban project but the idea was later abandoned. A hotel in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, also considered buying the system, but the system was not long enough. Additional plans to sell the system to the City of Dallas and Holiday Inn, also failed to materialize. Without a buyer, the Jetrail System was dismantled during 1978.


References


External links

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Braniff Jetrail images
{{Coord, 32.837592, N, 96.842467, W, display=title Airport people mover systems in the United States Passenger rail transportation in Texas Transportation in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Driverless suspended monorails Railway lines opened in 1970 Railway lines closed in 1974 Monorails in the United States Defunct monorails Braniff 1970 establishments in Texas 1974 disestablishments in Texas