The fleet has been expanded from 15 cars to 36 cars. Service operates every three minutes, and each three-car train can carry 147 passengers. The train makes five stops, and the trip from Terminal 1 at one end of the tracks to the rental car and transit facility at the other takes 10 minutes, according to the aviation department.Ĭonstruction on the people mover was initially supposed to be substantially complete by December 2018, and service interruptions were supposed to be kept to a minimum during construction. But the project soon devolved into delays, finger-pointing and contract disputes, the Tribune found in a 2019 investigation. More recently, the main contractor on the project experienced pandemic delays when various manufacturing and travel restrictions made it harder to get parts and for experts to travel to Chicago to help with testing, the Department of Aviation said last year. The contractor also “encountered challenges during the testing phase of the project,” the department said at the time. The main contractor, Parsons Construction Group, initially signed a $310 million contract for the project, which was later raised to $340 million. The shuttles buses cost about $81 million to operate between November 2018 and February 2021, the aviation department has said. The project was funded through a variety of fees, including passenger and car rental fees and general airport revenue bond proceeds. A $1 billion overhaul of Terminal 5 is underway that will add 10 new gates to the terminal and more passenger amenity space, reconfigure customs facilities and replace the baggage handling system. The terminal is reopening in phases, and is expected to be fully in use by 2023, airport officials have said. Recently, gates at the terminal began being renumbered.Īn $8.5 billion expansion, slated to be the largest and most expensive terminal revamp in the airport’s history, will also include a new global terminal and three new concourses.Known as the Airport Transit System, the ATS was suspended on weekdays as of May 30, 2018, and entirely shut down on Jan. Reopening was anticipated in fall 2019, but project delays that spiraled into the millions forced O'Hare workers and fliers onto shuttle buses until now.Īs well as stopping at all terminals and Economy Parking Lot F, the track has been extended to a new station at O'Hare's Multi-Modal Facility that houses rental car companies and parking. New cars will double passenger capacity officials said. The ATS is a convenient, fast, and reliable automated people mover at OHare International Airport. The top speed of trains is 50 mph and it takes about 10 minutes to travel from Terminal 1 to the Multi-Modal Facility, the CDA reported. The fully automated ATS transports passengers to and. The new system will have 36 cars compared to the original 15. "This project was particularly complex because the O'Hare ATS is a unique system, only one other deployment of this system is in service in the world and that is in Taipei, Taiwan," CDA officials stated. Photo: courtesy of Lex839 via Wikipedia.The original cost was budgeted at $310 million but the city has paid its contractor, Parsons Construction Group about $323.3 million so far. Image: O’Hare International Airport – Airport Transit System with Hilton Hotel in Background. "We are confident that our vast experience in delivering brown-field system upgrades and asset replacements makes us the right partner to deliver this challenging project."īombardier said in a statement that the Innovia APM 256 vehicle was the suitable choice as it fits into O’Hare’s existing guideway infrastructure and station envelopes.Īdditionally, the Cityflo 650 CBTC system’s flexibility enables it to be installed and tested during downtime and it is important as the airport’s existing people mover system must remain in operation until replaced. "Bombardier offers a competitive, fully integrated system to O’Hare International Airport that will increase capacity and provide reliable transportation for passengers."īombardier Transportation Systems Division president Pierre Attendu: "With our proven Innovia APM 256 vehicles and Cityflo 650 CBTC technology, Bombardier offers a competitive, fully integrated system to O’Hare International Airport that will increase capacity and provide reliable transportation for passengers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |