Vought Airtrans

LTV's (Vought) Airtrans was an automated people mover system that operated at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport between 1974 and 2005. The adaptable people mover was utilized for several separate systems: the Airport Train, Employee Train, American Airlines TrAAin and utility service. All systems utilized the same guideways and vehicle base but served different stations to create various routes.

Vought Airtrans
Vought Airtrans passenger vehicle in operation at DFW International Airport
Overview
LocaleDallas/Fort Worth Airport, Texas
Transit typePeople mover
Number of stations33
Daily ridership250 million over lifetime
Operation
Began operationJanuary, 1974
Operator(s)Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
Number of vehicles68
Train length21 feet (6.40 m) per vehicle
Headway165 feet (50.3 m)
Technical
System length15 mi (24.14 km)
Top speed17 mph (27 km/h)

After 30 years of service the system's 1970s technology was no longer adequate for the expanding airport's needs, and in 2005 it was replaced by the current Skylink system. While most of the system was auctioned and sold for scrap, some guideways and stations (some of which are still open to the public) remain. Airtrans moved nearly 5 million people in its first year of operation; by the end of its life it had served over 250 million passengers.

Airtrans technology was expected to be deployed in similar mass transit systems around the US. In Japan, the system was licensed by a consortium formed between Niigata Engineering and Sumitomo Corporation for similar deployments there. Niigata Engineering has since supplied this technology for urban people mover systems such as Osaka's Nankō Port Town Line, Hiroshima's Astram Line and Tokyo's Yurikamome. Car #25 was donated to the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas, and Cars #30 and #82 were donated to North Texas Historic Transportation in Fort Worth, Texas.

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