AirTrain Newark
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AirTrain Newark is a
monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...
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 connecting the terminals and various parking facilities at
Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...
(EWR) and trains at
Newark Liberty International Airport Station Newark Liberty International Airport Station (also known as Newark Airport Rail Station and Newark RaiLink station, and often announced simply as Newark Airport) is a railroad hub on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in Newark, New Jersey. The stati ...
on the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
(NEC), where transfers are possible to
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
and
NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...
's
Northeast Corridor Line The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit between the Trenton Transit Center and New York Penn Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in the United States. The service is the successor to Pennsylvania Railroad ...
and
North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter rail line running from Rahway, New Jersey, Rahway to Bay Head, New Jersey, traversing through the Jersey Shore region. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electr ...
. The monorail opened in 1996, and is planned to be replaced by a Cable Liner system by 2030.


History


Planning and initial operations

In 1991, ground was broken for AirTrain Newark's construction. A monorail had been proposed in order to alleviate vehicular traffic at the terminals. Originally projected to open in 1994, the completion date was pushed back due to a change in project management and issues related to the system's switches. The $354 million monorail eventually opened on May 31, 1996. It initially served only as an airport circulator, a service which allows passengers to transfer between
airport terminal An airport terminal is a main 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. The buildings that provide access t ...
s or concourses. Service was phased in, with trains operating from 5 AM to 11 PM for the first 60 days of the monorail's operations, after which time it would operate at all times, starting early that August. The monorail tracks were soon thereafter extended to the Northeast Corridor, with construction on that project beginning in 1997; the extension opened on October 21, 2001. When the system first opened in 1996, a fleet of 12 six-car trains ran on the network. The fleet was later expanded to 18 six-car trains. In September 2000, the monorail temporarily shut down after defects were detected in the system's de-icing mechanisms. Originally anticipated to last for three months, the shutdown & repairs lasted for six months, and the monorail resumed operations on the morning of March 10, 2001.
Adtranz Adtranz was a multi-national rail transportation equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the US. The company, legally known as ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, was created in 1996 as a joint venture between ABB and Daim ...
was responsible for paying the $25 million in repairs, and temporary shuttle buses provided service in lieu of the monorail during the shutdown period. The contract to build the system was awarded to Von Roll, but the project was finished by Adtranz, which acquired Von Roll's monorail division while the system was being built. Adtranz was later acquired by
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
, which was itself purchased by
Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
, which continues to operate the AirTrain under contract to the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...
– the operator of the airport. AirTrain service was suspended from May 1, 2014, for 75 days, until mid-July, to allow for repairs to be made. Repairs were completed early, and the system resumed operations on July 3.


Replacement

The system has a projected lifespan of 25 years. In April 2015, the PANYNJ suggested that initial work to replace the system would cost $40 million in consultant and engineering studies. In 2017, the Port Authority decided to include the then $1.7 billion
PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...
extension to the Newark Liberty International Airport "RailLink" station in their 2017 10-year capital plan, while the AirTrain was given $300 million for maintenance and repairs. However, in January 2019,
New Jersey Governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...
Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected governor i ...
announced a plan for a $2 billion replacement project for the AirTrain. Murphy has stated that replacement is necessary because the system is reaching the end of its projected 25-year life and is subject to persistent delays and breakdowns. The Port Authority would be responsible for funding the project. In October 2019, the Port Authority's Board of Commissioners approved the AirTrain Newark Replacement Project, with an estimated cost of $2.05 billion. Construction was expected to start in 2021 and be completed in 2024. A draft
environmental impact statement An environmental impact statement (EIS), under United States environmental law, is a document required by the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An E ...
was completed in February 2021 when the proposed opening date was shifted to 2026. Federal environmental approval for the project was received later that year. In December 2023, the Port Authority announced that Doppelmayr will manufacture the replacement system, awarding them the contract in the first phase of the project's contract procurement process.; ; The new system will use automated, cable-driven trains, and many portions of the route will travel along new alignments; the new system will be in in length and have four stations. Tutor Perini received a $1.2 billion contract in November 2024 to construct the new system's stations and elevated tracks,; at which point the system's cost had increased to $3.5 billion and the opening date shifted further to 2030.
Parsons Corporation Parsons Corporation is an American multinational technology-focused defense, intelligence, and infrastructure engineering firm. Founded in 1944, Parsons is headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, and serves both government and private sector orga ...
was hired the next month to design the stations and guideway.


Fare

The train is free, except for passengers traveling to and from the RailLink station to connect with
NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...
or
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
; these passengers must pay an $8.50 "AirTrain access fee" at that station. When passengers purchase a rail ticket to or from the station, the fee is automatically added to the ticket price and a barcode is printed on the ticket that is used to pass through the fare gate array between the AirTrain platform and the train platform. Passengers using passes to another station and those who pay a cash fare on board the train must purchase a separate AirTrain ticket from machines located on either side of the fare gates. Child tickets (ages 5 to 11) are exempt from this additional fare. The access fee has been raised several times since the system was built, with the last increase to $8.50 going into effect on March 1, 2024.


Stations

The AirTrain has three major stations within the airport: one for each terminal (A, B, and C). Two stations – Terminal B and Terminal C – sit on top of their respective terminal buildings. There are two other stations (P3 and P4) for the parking lots and rental car facilities, plus a sixth (the RailLink station) at the Northeast Corridor. The system previously included two other stations: P1 and P2 – but the P1 station was removed in July 2019 to permit construction of a new consolidated rental car and parking facility, and P2 closed in June 2021 in connection with the same project. However, the P2 station was reopened as the new Terminal A station in conjunction with the new Terminal A in January 2023. The former Terminal A station was initially used as an "employees only" stop, but after the terminal's permanent closure, the employees stop has since been moved to the closed P3 station. Automated announcements recorded by former traffic reporter Bernie Wagenblast tell riders which airlines can be found in each terminal, as well as available connections at other stations. All stations are compliant with the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
. In 2007, the average daily paid ridership was 4,930.


Rolling stock

AirTrain Newark operates using 18 Von Roll Mk III trainsets, each train consisting of 6 cars. Automated announcements onboard the trains announce the stations and the airlines and connections available at the given station – in addition to various other messages; the announcements are recorded by former traffic reporter Bernie Wagenblast. The fleet originally consisted of 12 six-car trains, but an additional six trainsets – also six cars in length – were eventually added, bringing the total number of trainsets to 18. Trains travel up to along the line.


Future

Upon the completion of the replacement AirTrain Newark system in 2030, the current Von Roll Mk III monorail trainsets will be retired and replaced by cable-driven trainsets manufactured by Doppelmayr.


See also

*
List of rapid transit systems These lists of urban rail transit systems are sorted by the type of system: * List of tram and light rail transit systems * List of town tramway systems * Medium-capacity rail system * List of premetro systems * List of metro systems * List o ...
* List of airport people mover systems *
Airport rail link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or ...
*
AirTrain JFK AirTrain JFK is an elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The driverless train, driverless system operates 24/7 service, 24/7 and consists of three lin ...
* AirTrain LaGuardia


References


External links

*
AirTrain Newark Replacement Program

PDF Brochure

PDF Travel Guide for Hotel and Travel Professionals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Airtrain, Newark 1996 establishments in New Jersey Airport people mover systems in the United States Airport rail links in the United States Monorail lines Monorails in the United States Newark Liberty International Airport Railway lines opened in 1996 Rapid transit in New Jersey Transportation in Elizabeth, New Jersey Transportation in Newark, New Jersey Von Roll Holding people movers