Skytrain (MIA)

The Skytrain is an automated people mover (APM) at Miami International Airport (MIA) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. One of three APMs at MIA, it operates within Concourse D and connects four stations over a distance of . It uses Crystal Mover vehicles, which are fully-automated and travel along the roof of the terminal. The system has transported up to 40,000 passengers daily.

The Skytrain was built as part of an airport expansion project, which included the construction of a new mile-long () terminal. Due to the building's length, the Skytrain built was to facilitate the transport of passengers and reduce walking times. Construction on the new terminal began in 2007 and Skytrain operations began in September 2010.

Due to deterioration of the system's infrastructure, Skytrain service was suspended for six months from September 2023 to March 2024. Since its reopening, the Skytrain is operating between three of its stations, as Station 1 remains indefinitely closed.

Background

In the late 1990s, MIA started a $6.3 billion capital improvement program to expand its facilities, which included the construction of a new passenger terminal to be used exclusively by American Airlines. Known as the North Terminal, the new facility would ultimately consolidate four of the airport's seven "finger-style" concourses into a single mile-long () linear terminal, which would allow for more daily aircraft operations per gate. To reduce the long potential walking times for passengers, an automated people mover (APM) was planned to transport passengers along the terminal's roof. It was designed to decrease walking times by 70 percent for domestic passengers and 34 percent for international passengers. A contract was awarded in 1999 to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Sumitomo Corporation to build the APM vehicles, which were completed in Japan by 2005.

The North Terminal project was originally managed by American Airlines; however, following a series of schedule delays and budget overruns, project management was transferred in 2005 to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD), the government agency that operates MIA. Construction of the terminal was contracted to the joint venture of Parsons–Odebrecht, and began in March 2007. The first phase of the terminal project completed construction in August 2009 and opened to the public in November; it included of renovations and new construction, three Skytrain stations, and approximately of train guideway. The Skytrain was scheduled for completion in the following year, and began operations on September 15, 2010. The total cost of the Skytrain system was $130 million (equivalent to $ million in ).

Service

The Skytrain travels across Concourse D and serves passengers in the airside zone who have cleared airport security. The North Terminal building that houses Concourse D contains 50 gates, numbered D1 to D60. The Skytrain route runs for , beginning at Station 1 on the east side of the concourse near Gate D17, and travels west to Station 4 on the opposite end of the concourse near Gate D47. The two intermediate stations include Station 2, which connects to the exit to the landside terminal area and baggage claim , and Station 3, which connects to Concourse E in the Central Terminal and passport control for international arrivals. Stations are located on the fifth level of the concourse and can be accessed by elevator or escalator from the departures area on the second level.

Trains are fully-automated and operate 19 hours a day, from 5:00 am until midnight. Four trains are in service during rush hours from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, with two or three trains in operation at other times. The headway between trains is two to three minutes, and travel time along the entire route is four minutes. By contrast, walking the length of the concourse between the two farthest gates takes about 30 minutes.

Technology

Track infrastructure is entirely elevated along the roof of Concourse D and is supported by over 100 concrete piers. It includes a double-track railway with concrete fixed guideways, which have a track gauge of . The entire system includes of track. The four stations have an island platform layout with platform screen doors. The system's maintenance and storage center is located adjacent to Station 3.

Rolling stock includes 20 Crystal Mover cars, which are configured into five trains with four cars each, including two fixed married-pair vehicles. The two separate vehicles in each train allow for secure transport of passengers arriving from international flights to the passport control facility; these passengers travel exclusively in the vehicle on the east side of the train, and board and alight the vehicle using a separate lobby on the east side of each station. A single car is long and wide; it can accommodate up to 93 passengers, including eight seats and two spaces for wheelchairs, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Up to four trains are put into operation simultaneously, with at least one kept in standby. The trains use rubber tires and can accelerate or decelerate at a rate of , with a maximum speed of . They are powered by a electrical system and feature electronically controlled pneumatic brakes with regenerative braking. Plans to purchase two additional four-car trains were approved in 2022, and are scheduled to be implemented by early 2026.

As a medium-capacity rail system, the Skytrain can transport up to 9,000 passengers per hour per direction, and it served up to 40,000 passengers daily in 2015. It is one of three individual APMs at MIA, in addition to the Concourse E people mover (opened in 1980) and the MIA Mover (opened in 2011). Since its opening in 2010, Skytrain operations and maintenance (O&M) have been provided under contract by Crystal Mover Services Inc. (CMSI), a joint subsidiary of MHI and Sumitomo Corporation. MDAD renewed CMSI's contract in 2022 to continue O&M services for an additional five years.

In 2011, MDAD received an "Award of Merit" from ''Engineering News-Record'' (''ENR'') for the construction of the Skytrain; it was awarded in ''ENR'' annual "Best Projects" competition for construction projects in the Southeastern United States.

Incidents

On December 22, 2015, a train collided with the buffer stop at the end of the track at Station 4 during an overnight maintenance test. The lead vehicle derailed onto the roof of the concourse, while the rear vehicle remained on the track. Only one employee was on board at the time and no injuries were reported. Passenger service was suspended for investigation, and the cause of the accident was ultimately determined to be the result of a short circuit which disabled the train's braking system. The circuiting was modified to remove the brake bypass function during normal train operations, and passenger service resumed on December 26.

On September 27, 2023, Skytrain service was suspended for six months due to structural damage in the system's infrastructure. Engineers discovered extensive cracking due to "accelerated deterioration" of the concrete in three of the piers under the tracks near Station 1 and recommended an immediate closure of the system. The cracking had previously been identified by engineers during routine inspections in 2021, but the issues were determined to be "minor" at the time. To supplement the lack of train service, American Airlines increased golf cart shuttle service inside the concourse, and MIA operated a temporary shuttle bus service. After $4.2 million of repairs, service resumed on March 29, 2024 between Stations 2, 3, and 4. Station 1 was initially planned to reopen in mid-2024, however, the station remains "temporarily out of service" .

See also

*List of airport people mover systems

References

Notes

Citations

External links

*
*

{{Portal bar, Aviation, Trains

Transportation in Miami
Airport people mover systems in the United States
Crystal Mover people movers
Railway lines opened in 2010
Miami International Airport
2010 establishments in Florida