Aerotren
Encyclopedia
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
operating at Mexico City International Airport
Mexico City International Airport
Benito Juárez International Airport , in Venustiano Carranza, one of the sixteen boroughs into which Mexico's Federal District is divided, is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico...
, near Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) automated people mover (APM) provides a link between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
Opened in 2007, it was part of the major expansion to the airport, which is the busiest in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. The link is only designed to transfer passengers connecting between flights, who must be in possession of and show a valid boarding pass.
Background
The Aerotrén airport link at Mexico City International Airport connects Terminal 1 with the new Terminal 2 which had been constructed on the opposite end of the runway from the existing terminal.The system is able to transport 540 transfer passengers per hour per direction
Passengers per hour per direction
Passengers per hour per direction or passengers per hour in peak direction is a transport-related term used to describe the capacity of a rapid transit or public transport system.-Directional flow:...
(pphpd).
Construction
The Mexico City International Airport Automated People Mover System Project was started on August 12, 2005 when a contract was signed between the airport owners Aeropuertos y Servicios AuxiliaresAeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares
Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares is a federal government-owned corporation with its own equity capital and legal identity. It has its headquarters in Mexico City International Airport in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City. It was created by the Mexican Federal Government in June 1965 to oversee...
(ASA) and DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car
DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car
DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car is a supplier of Automated People Movers based in Wolfurt, Austria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group...
. The system was completed by November 2007 at a price of €52 million.
The system was built and designed in a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with (ICA), Mexico's largest construction company.
The area around Mexico City suffers from soil settlement, and this had to be allowed for. The elevated guideway structure has the ability to be adjusted for ground settlements. Steel adapters between the steel truss and the concrete columns allow later height adjustments to compensate for any ground movement.
Technology
A single-track, single train, Cable LinerCable Liner
The Cable Liner and Cable Liner Shuttle is a range of automated people mover products designed by DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car for use at airports, in city centres, intermodal passenger transport connections, park and ride facilities, campuses, resorts and amusement parks.The design is notable for...
Shuttle design was chosen. The installed system is 3025 metres (9,924.5 ft) in length and operates at a speed of 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph) between the two terminal stations.
The train is composed of four cars, each holding 26 passengers and making of a total of 104 passengers per train. An option was included for lengthening the original four car train to six cars, providing an increase from 540 pphpd up to 800 pphpd.
Operations
Only connecting passengers with hand luggage can use the system, who must have a valid flight boarding pass to board. Travel time is 5:45 minutes and the train pauses (dwells) for 60 seconds on each station. When the system closes for maintenance, passengers are ferried between both terminals in buses.See also
- AirRail LinkAirRail LinkThe AirRail Link is a people mover linking Birmingham Airport with Birmingham International railway station and the National Exhibition Centre , in the United Kingdom...
, DCC's first airport system in Birmingham, UK - LINK Train, another Cable Liner system in Toronto, Canada
External links
- Mexico City International Airport
- DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car, manufacturer's website