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San Francisco International Airport AirTrain


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#1 BillMagee

BillMagee

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Posted 22 August 2003 - 11:12 PM

This is the first of three short trip reports on one sort-of rail, one rail, and one almost rail subject.

A combination of an inexpensive companion fare and an intense need for my wife and I to get away for a little while resulted in last-minute plans for a five night stay on the west coast. One hook was the opportunity to attend a Phillies vs. Giants game at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco. Obviously, the short schedule means that travel from Philadelphia to San Francisco was by air, so we will skip straight to the rail related aspects of the trip. But for those who want the whole story, go to My Air Trip Report Here.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) AirTrain

AirTrain is an automated, rubber-tire people mover that services the SFO terminal complex and the remote Rental Car Center. The system opened March 3, 2003. The two-car, un-manned trains run on an aerial guideway that loops past the SFO air terminals. The trains and guideway are similar to subway versions at Denver International and Atlanta Hartsfield international Airports and an aerial version at Orlando International. Bombardier, of Acela fame, manufactured the SFO trains. AirTrain operates two routes. The Red Line runs as a continuous loop past all the air terminals and parking garages. The Blue Line originates at the Rental Car Center, loops the terminal complex, and returns to the Center.

Upon discharge of our flight at Terminal 1, my wife and I, with only carry-on luggage, headed straight for AirTrain. We were enroute to the Rental Car Center located 1.5 mile north of the terminal complex. Although AirTrain has a station at Terminal 1, some architectural complications that I suspect relate to the temporary placement of the huge luggage screening machines in the ticketing lobby have prevented construction of the planned direct connection between the terminal and the AirTrain station. So, off we went on a very well marked but circuitous path to the AirTrain station. First it is down two escalators to the level below the arrivals roadway. Then it is through the access tunnel under the roadway to the lowest level of the parking garage. Then it is up the parking garage elevators to the top Level 5. Then it is up still one more escalator to the station located at least 60 feet above the ground. What a trek! I later learned that only Terminal 1 has this access problem. Terminal 3 and the new International terminals all have direct connections to AirTrain. Weren’t we lucky?

The AirTrain stations are enclosed with glass walls and doors guarding the edge of the island platforms and blocking the cool breeze that always seems to exist on San Francisco bay. The service runs on two tracks with the Red Line terminal loop on the inner track operating clockwise, and the Blue Line rental car service operating on the outer track counter-clockwise. A Blue Line train arrived within a few minutes and we entered the front end of the lead car. The cars, typical of airport transit systems, are primarily for standees. The automated operation departed quickly and made stops at Terminal 2 (for garage access only: Terminal 2 is closed), Terminal 3, International Terminal G, and Garage G / BART. One really nice feature of AirTrain is the view. The guideway is higher than almost all the surrounding buildings and you have a clear view of the entire airfield. Short of the control tower, this is without a doubt the best possible vantage point to watch aircraft at SFO. My wife firmly believes that I could spend hours riding this service just for the sightseeing. She is right.

After the Garage G / BART stop, the Blue Line train turned north and took the 1.5 mile trip to the Rental Car Center. The top speed in this leg is 30mph. An intermediate stop is made at Westfield Road (access to the air cargo and USPS facilities) and the final stop is made at the Rental Car Center. The arrival platform at the Rental Car Center is at Level 4, which just happened to be where our car was located. With our rental not requiring a counter check-in, we found our car and were on the road very quickly. The total time from the aircraft parking at the gate to our exiting the garage with our car was 40 minutes. Not bad!

AirTrain at San Francisco International is a winner.




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