The Terminal Link (formerly Link Train) is an

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

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. ...

(APM) at

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surr ...

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

.The 1.5 km line connects Terminals 1 and 3 (there is no longer a Terminal 2) and the Viscount Reduced Rate parking lot and garage. The wheelchair-accessible train runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is completely free-of-charge to ride. In 2012, it transported 17,000 passengers daily, 60 to 70% of whom were airport staff.

History

The original proposal for an automated people mover system at Pearson Airport was submitted in May 2002. Six months later, on November 15, 2002, a $55-million contract was signed with

DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an international manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, urban transport, amusement parks, and material handling systems. As of 2019, the group have produced over 15,000 installations in 96 countri ...

GmbH of Wolfurt,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, followed by four years of construction, and the system opened to the public on July 6, 2006. The service initially operated alongside its predecessor, the Link shuttle bus system. The system cost $150 million.

Design and rolling stock

The Terminal Link uses a pair of

Cable Liner The Cable Liner is a range of automated people mover products designed by Doppelmayr Cable Car for use at airports, in city centers, intermodal passenger transport connections, park and ride facilities, campuses, resorts and amusement parks. ...

trains. They use a cable-hauled, drive and tension system. Each train has capacity for 175 passengers with baggage (25 per car: 17 standing, 8 seated) or 2,500 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd). * Married set formed of cars ++++++ * Married set formed of cars ++++++ The two trains, plus a small work car, cost a total of when delivered. They were refurbished in 2013, and received a new paint scheme, new seats, and a seventh car (they were originally delivered and used as six-car trains).

Stations and operation

The two fully elevated lines, running side-by-side, are long, and have a one-way travel time of four minutes. They serve three stations: * Terminal 1 * Terminal 3 *

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

(long-term parking on Airport Road) Both lines operate independently in shuttle mode with a total capacity of up to 2,180

pphpd Passengers per hour per direction (p/h/d), passengers per hour in peak direction (pphpd) or corridor capacity is a measure of the route capacity of a rapid transit or public transport system. Definition The corridor capacity in the passenger ...

. The trains run on rubber tires on a smooth steel surface and all

propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived f ...

is provided by the cable. The absence of onboard motors, braking systems and

gearboxes Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

eliminates excessive noise, oil spills from the trains, and dust from brakes. Doppelmayr asserts that a cable-driven APM is the most environmentally responsible solution for transportation in high density applications.

Disruptions

On March 30, 2009, the Link Train was put out of service for extensive maintenance due to engineering design flaws. During this time, service was replaced by an inter-terminal shuttle bus contracted to

Penetang-Midland Coach Lines Penetang Midland Coach Lines Ltd. (PMCL) was a regional and charter bus operator in Ontario which was acquired by Greyhound Canada. PMCL once operated inter-terminal bus service at Toronto Pearson International Airport and was a school bus operato ...

. Normal service resumed in July 2009. On March 16, 2013, the Link Train was shut down for approximately eight months during construction of the

Union Pearson Express The Union Pearson Express (UP Express or UPX) is an airport rail link connecting Union Station in Downtown Toronto to Toronto Pearson International Airport. The UP Express began operation on 6 June 2015, in time for the 2015 Pan American Games. ...

. The trains were refurbished during this time and received a seventh car, new seats, and a new paint scheme.

Connections

The

airport rail link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while ...

service between Pearson Airport and

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

Downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Str ...

opened on June 6, 2015, in time for the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak al ...

. It directly serves Terminal 1, with a connection to Terminal 3 via the Terminal Link. A number of public transport bus services in the GTA have a stop on the lower level of Terminal 1; these include the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...

(TTC),

MiWay MiWay (pronounced "my way"; stylized miWAY), also known as Mississauga Transit and originally as Mississauga Transit Systems, is the municipal public transport agency serving Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and is responsible to the city's Tra ...

Brampton Transit Brampton Transit (BT) is a public transport bus operator for the City of Brampton in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario, Canada. Brampton Transit began operations in 1974. In , the system had ...

, and

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

. The TTC has an additional stop on the lower level at Terminal 3, served after departing Terminal 1. As originally proposed,

Line 5 Eglinton Line 5 Eglinton (also known as the Eglinton Crosstown or the Crosstown) is a light rail line that is under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Metrolinx and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the line will be part of ...

was to connect Pearson Airport with Scarborough by 2018 as part of the ''

Transit City Transit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced on 16 March 2007 by then- Toronto Mayor David Miller and Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Adam Giambrone. ...

'' plan. However, when the four Transit City lines were found to be $2.4 billion over their funding envelope in January 2010, parts of the network were deferred, including the western section of the Eglinton LRT. A future extension could eventually reach the airport, completing the line as envisioned. As of 2020 planning for the western extension is underway and

Metrolinx Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union ...

hopes to complete the line by 2030–31.

References

External links

*
Doppelmayr Cable Car
designer's webpage

Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group
parent company of DCC {{North American airport people movers Transport in the Greater Toronto Area Light rail in Canada Passenger rail transport in Mississauga Airport people mover systems Cable Liner people movers Toronto Pearson International Airport People mover systems in Canada Railway lines opened in 2006 2006 establishments in Ontario Electric railways in Canada