Alstom has successfully delivered the 4 km extension to the PHX Sky Train automated people mover (APM) system at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, providing airport connections to the light rail train network and the rental car centre. On December 20, 2022 the second stage of the light rail system has been opened to passengers providing services continuously in both directions 24 hours a day, seven days a week and arrive as frequently as every three minutes.
The extension to the PHX Sky Train provides not only increased capacity, but also more multimodal and accessible connections between the city of Phoenix and the airport, and an enhanced overall airport experience for domestic and international travellers.
Under the scope of the contract Alstom delivered a full turnkey solution comprised of electro-mechanical and guideway equipment, expansion of the current maintenance and storage facility, a maintenance recovery vehicle, retrofitted the wayside signalling system and upgraded vehicles already in operation today.
In addition, 24 new Innovia APM 200 vehicles allow for 3-car trains, up from 2-car trains, which means being able to move more passengers more comfortably and more quickly in and around the airport facilities. Alstom delivered the extension, while maintaining current operations of the PHX Sky Train throughout construction and testing, with no impact to availability or reliability of the system.
In total, it takes about 13 minutes for the trains to travel the 8 km (5 miles) from the 44th Street PHX Sky Train station to the Rental Car Center station.
Initial projections indicated about 2.5 million passengers were expected to ride the train in its first year (7,000/day), but the ridership has exceeded expectations with on average about 14,000 riders daily. Anticipated daily ridership will be about 35,000 daily passengers as stage 2 opens. In the future with airport growth, we expect about 79,000 passengers to ride each day.
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