Skyway (formerly TerminaLink) is a

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

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The system is 0.7 miles (1.1 km) long, and runs along the north side of the airport, beyond

airport security Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats. Aviation security is a combination of measures and hum ...

. The system serves all of the airport's five terminals, with four stations at Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminal C, and International Terminal D /E, respectively. Skyway, which operates airside, is one of two people movers currently operating at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The other people mover, which operates landside, opened in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and is known as the Subway, formerly known as the Inter-terminal Train. The system uses Bombardier

Innovia APM 100 The Innovia APM 100 (formerly known as the CX-100) is an automated people mover (APM) rolling stock first developed by Westinghouse (later Adtranz, Bombardier Transportation, and now Alstom), intended mainly for airport connections and light ...

vehicles, which are powered from a 600-

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defi ...

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...

. There are a total of 12 vehicles in the system, and each vehicle travels at 30 mph (50 km/h) and can hold up to 80 passengers. The same type of vehicles are also found at

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport in ...

( Automated Guideway Transit System), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (

The Plane Train The Plane Train is a 24/7 automated people mover (APM) at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport that transports passengers between the terminals and the airside concourses. The system is the world's most heavily traveled airport AP ...

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle E ...

( AirTrain), and

Tampa International Airport Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. T ...

History

The TerminaLink system opened on May 24, 1999 as a 0.1 mile (0.2 km) line with two stations, connecting Terminal C and Terminal B with a maintenance building for the rail vehicles between the two terminals. The system was funded by

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started o ...

at a cost of

US $ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

58 million, and was built to provide easy access between the airline's two

airport terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase ...

s. Construction was completed in a total of 30 months and was the last phase of Continental's US$200 million airport expansion project. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, the system was expanded 0.6 mile (0.9 km) from Terminal C to Terminal D. The

electrical work Electric field work is the work performed by an electric field on a charged particle in its vicinity. The particle located experiences an interaction with the electric field. The work per unit of charge is defined by moving a negligible test charg ...

for the expansion was supervised by TAG Electric Company who installed over 71 miles (114 km) of cables and wires for the project. The airport has expanded the line to Terminal A at a cost of US$100 million, and construction began in early 2008 and was completed in 2010. In 2015, the airport updated its branding. As part of the initiative, TerminaLink and the Inter-terminal Train were renamed to Skyway and Subway, respectively. The new names refer to each APM's location; Skyway is the elevated track, while Subway is underground. This was intended to make it easier for travelers to differentiate the two lines. Skyway vehicles also received blue and green body wraps with the new name.

References

{{North American airport people movers Transportation in Houston Airport people mover systems in the United States Innovia people movers Railway lines opened in 1999 George Bush Intercontinental Airport 1999 establishments in Texas

History

See also

References