Жаңа Йорк қаласындағы әуежай ішкі көлік жүйесінің тарихы

Airport people mover system in New York City

In 1978, the MTA started operating the JFK Express, a premium fare New York City Subway service that connected Midtown Manhattan to the Howard Beach–JFK Airport station. The shuttle buses transported passengers between the different airport terminals within JFK's Central Terminal Area, as well as between Howard Beach and the terminals. The JFK Express service was unpopular with passengers because of its high cost, and because the buses often got stuck in traffic. The service was ultimately canceled in 1990. In 1990, the MTA proposed a $1.6 billion rail link to LaGuardia and JFK airports, which would be funded jointly by federal, state, and city government agencies. It would travel to LaGuardia Airport, then make two additional stops at Shea Stadium and Jamaica before proceeding to JFK. The proposal was supported by governor Mario Cuomo The project's budget had grown to $2.6 billion by that year.

The direct rail connection between Manhattan, LaGuardia Airport, and JFK Airport was canceled outright in mid 1995. The plan had failed to become popular politically, as it would have involved increasing road tolls and PATH train fares to pay for the new link. Following the cancellation, the planned connection to JFK Airport was downsized to a 7.5 mile (12 km) monorail or people mover, which would travel between Howard Beach and the JFK terminals. The Port Authority initially proposed building a $827 million monorail, similar to AirTrain Newark at Newark Airport, which would open the following year. In August 1995, the FAA approved the Port Authority's request to use the PFC funds for the monorail plan and it simultaneously set aside $25 million for planning and engineering. The FAA had already given the Port Authority permission to collect PFC funds for the Howard Beach branch and the terminal section, but not for the branch to Jamaica. Although there would not be a direct connection to Manhattan, the Port Authority estimated it would halve travel time between JFK and Midtown, with the journey between JFK and Penn Station taking one hour. The New York Times wrote that 21 prior recommendations for direct rail links to New York area airports had been canceled in the preceding 30 years,

The people mover system was one of several major projects proposed at JFK Airport during the late 1990s. Pataki supported the revised people mover plan, but New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said the city would have to contribute $300 million, and that it was not a direct rail link from Manhattan, and thus would not be profitable because of the need to transfer from Jamaica. The Port Authority was originally planning to fund the project using $1.2 billion in PFC fees and $300 million in rental income. Giuliani wanted the Port Authority to study extending the Astoria elevated to LaGuardia Airport, as well as making the light rail system compatible with the subway or LIRR to allow possible future interoperability. By March 1997, five companies had expressed interest in building the system. The next month, Pataki agreed to provide $100 million to study a rail link to LaGuardia; in exchange, Giuliani and Queens borough president Claire Shulman agreed to not oppose the JFK link. The Port Authority was reluctant to approve more than $5 million for the LaGuardia study. Giuliani's continued opposition to the system delayed the project, and, if construction did not start by October, the project could lose $100 million worth of federal funds. As part of the agreement, the state would also conduct a study on a similar train link to LaGuardia Airport. An artist's impression of the proposed people mover was presented to residents of southern Queens that November. Public reception was mixed. One civic leader in Jamaica was optimistic that the people mover would spur development in that neighborhood, and other supporters said it would benefit business and alleviate Van Wyck Expressway traffic in the long run. On the other hand, two community boards and several civic groups claimed the people mover would worsen traffic,

The Port Authority could use the funds from the Passenger Facility Charge only to make improvements that exclusively benefited airport passengers. As a result, only the sections linking Jamaica and Howard Beach to JFK Airport were approved and built, since it was expected that airport travelers would be the sole users of the system. The federal government approved the use of PFC funds for the new light rail system in February 1998. The PFC funds could not be used for as much as $200 million of the cost because, according to the FAA, the tax funds could not be used to pay for additional costs such as storage, maintenance, operation, and fare collection expenses. The Port Authority awarded a $930 million design–build–operate–maintain contract in April 1998 to AirRail Transit Consortium, a group composed of Slattery Skanska, Bombardier Transportation, STV Inc., Perini Corporation, and numerous consultants. Giuliani, who did not want the city to pay the project's $200 million cost difference, said he would not allow construction to begin unless the funding dispute was resolved. and an official groundbreaking took place on September 16, 1998. By the beginning of 1999, the system was known as the AirTrain. The route was to run mostly along existing rights of way, but three commercial properties were seized and demolished to make way for the route. Members of the New York City Planning Commission approved the condemnation of several buildings along the route in May 1999 but voiced concerns about the projected high price of the tickets, ridership demand, and unwieldy transfers at Jamaica. Before major construction could begin, the New York City Council had to vote on whether to approve the project, and the AirTrain's supporters and opponents both lobbied the City Council heavily. Although City Council speaker Peter Vallone was publicly neutral on the project, his own office had published a study in early 1999, which criticized the AirTrain's lack of direct access to Manhattan and predicted that it would be of little help to the local economy. To attract local support, the Port Authority offered to pay for other projects in surrounding neighborhoods, such as a waterfront park. The council approved the AirTrain that June on a 47–3 vote, even though many council members also had reservations about the AirTrain.

The project was controversial from the outset: although several local politicians, community leaders, and the politically powerful construction industry supported the AirTrain, it faced opposition from the ATA and local residents. Queens community boards 10, 12, and 13 cast advisory votes in support of the project. Almost all civic groups along the Jamaica branch's route opposed it due to concerns about nuisance, noise, and traffic. Residents of Briarwood, a neighborhood that was not even near the AirTrain, also opposed the project because they feared the Jamaica branch would be extended to LaGuardia. Homeowners believed the concrete viaducts would lower the value of their houses, and some residents reported that vibrations from construction had caused their homes to shake and crack. The ATA filed a federal lawsuit in January 1999, Additionally, the judge found that the Port Authority and FAA had shut the ATA out of discussions. The advocacy groups filed a second federal lawsuit in 2000, claiming that the FEIS had included misleading statements about the effects of the elevated structure on southern Queens neighborhoods. The ATA withdrew from the lawsuit, but one of the advocacy groups proceeded with the appeal and lost. The Port Authority also hired a community liaison in 1998 to address local residents' concerns. During the next two years, the liaison received 400 calls seeking damages or complaining about vibrations and construction. In response to complaints, the Port Authority imposed strict rules regarding disruptive or loud construction activity, as well as implementing a streamlined damage claim process to compensate homeowners. Through 2002, there were 550 nuisance complaints over the AirTrain's construction, of which 98 percent had been resolved by April of that year. By contrast, Queens Community District 12, which includes the neighborhood of South Jamaica along the AirTrain's route, recorded few complaints about the construction process.

A website for the project was launched in April 2000. Pile driving for elevated columns was nearly completed in late 2000, when two thirds of the system's columns had been installed. The system was ready for its first test trains by the end of the year, By then, workers had completed 140 columns for the guideways in the Van Wyck Expressway's median. Although the Port Authority had planned to award 17% of contracts for the first phase of AirTrain's construction to minority and women owned business enterprises (MWBEs), only 8.6% of contracts had been awarded to MWBEs by mid 2001. Following a small protest by one group of minority workers, the Port Authority to hire consultants and create a committee to oversee the awarding of contracts. Despite the September 11 attacks later the same year, work on the project was not interrupted. As part of the AirTrain's construction, a renovation of the Jamaica LIRR station was announced in 2000. A $75 million renovation of the Howard Beach station was completed in May 2001, with an ADA compliant transfer to and from the AirTrain. The same month, work started on the renovation of the Jamaica station, which entailed building a transfer passageway to the AirTrain; Though the Jamaica station's rehabilitation was originally supposed to be finished by 2005,
Service was originally planned to begin on the Howard Beach branch in October 2002, but the opening was delayed because of incidents during testing. By the next month, the guideway, most of the stations and substations, and the rolling stock were complete, and test trains were running on the system. DeBourgh's death prompted an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which found that the train had been speeding on a curve; in particular, it had been going as fast as on a segment of track that was meant to be traversed at Further investigations found that DeBourgh's supervisors had not correctly trained him. The opening was postponed indefinitely as officials looked into the cause of the derailment that killed DeBourgh. In February 2003, the Port Authority announced that the system could open that June, although the opening was then delayed further. Work on the stations continued throughout early 2003, and the Port Authority resumed test runs of the system in April after its internal safety board found that DeBourgh's death had not been caused by the system's design. At the time, the system was planned to open by the end of the year. The AirRail Transit Consortium said in November 2003 that it would open the entire system later that month, but this date was subsequently delayed to December 17. The latter date was chosen to mark the centennial of the Wright Flyer maiden flight, as well as to accommodate increased air traffic for the Christmas and holiday season. and was fare free on its first day. According to Newsday, politicians were optimistic about the AirTrain, but travelers' enthusiasm was dampened by the fact that travelers had to transfer—though, the paper said, "the stations where the schlepping will take place are polished and sleek". The New York Daily News said that riders had mixed opinions of the new system. Southeast Queens residents feared the project could become a boondoggle, as the construction cost of the system had increased to $1.9 billion. This figure was $400 million over what had been budgeted for the system in 1999. Crain's New York Business said in 2003 that the system's opening and other upgrades at JFK Airport would allow the airport to accommodate 50 million annual passengers by 2007; by comparison, the airport had recorded 31.7 million travelers in 2003. Early riders had difficulty finding the trains because navigational signs were still covered up. and some travelers could not easily find the system because it was not shown on LIRR and subway maps. These issues had subsided by the AirTrain's first anniversary, when Bombardier reported that the system had an uptime rate of between 97 and 99 percent.

Several projects were developed in Jamaica in anticipation of the system's opening, and local civic leaders hoped the system would help revitalize downtown Jamaica. One development firm began constructing a office building at the site in 2001. Another project, a 250 room hotel above the AirTrain terminal, was deferred after the September 11 attacks. this structure was the first building in a planned mixed use development spanning
After AirTrain JFK began operating, Jamaica saw a boom in commerce, A 15 screen movie theater opened in the area in early 2004, and developers were also planning a 13 floor building in the area. In 2004, the city proposed rezoning 40 blocks of Jamaica, centered around the AirTrain station, as a commercial area. According to the RPA, the rezoning was part of a proposal to re envision Jamaica as a "regional center" because of the area's high usage as a transit hub. During the average weekday, 100,000 LIRR riders and 53,000 subway riders traveled to or from Jamaica, and the Port Authority had estimated that the AirTrain JFK would carry 12.4 million passengers a year. A New York Times reporter wrote that the presence of AirTrain JFK riders was one factor in the redevelopment of downtown Jamaica, where, by 2011, three budget hotels had been developed near the Jamaica station. The area west of the Jamaica station was still underdeveloped, so many travelers chose to transfer to the LIRR or subway in Jamaica rather than stay there overnight. In 1998, the Port Authority examined the possibility of reactivating the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch, allowing LIRR trains to run from Manhattan directly onto the Howard Beach Branch. The RPA also published a report in 1999, in which it recommended the construction of new lines and stations for the New York City Subway. The plan included one service that would travel from Grand Central Terminal to JFK Airport via what eventually became the AirTrain. Ultimately, the MTA rejected the RPA's proposal. U. S. senator Chuck Schumer had proposed a direct rail link from JFK Airport to Manhattan's Fulton Center the day the AirTrain opened. Between September 2003 and April 2004, several agencies, including the MTA and the Port Authority, conducted a feasibility study of the Lower Manhattan–Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project, which would allow trains to travel directly from JFK Airport to Manhattan. The study examined 40 alternatives, and four options for extending the AirTrain had been announced by early 2004. The project was halted in 2008 before an environmental impact statement could be created. Though a direct route to Grand Central was never built, the LIRR's East Side Access project did open in 2023. East Side Access provided an alternative route to JFK from the East Side of Manhattan and from Metro North Railroad, but passengers were still required to transfer between the LIRR and AirTrain at Jamaica.

On January 4, 2017, the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a $7–10 billion plan to renovate JFK Airport. As part of the project, the AirTrain JFK would either see lengthened trainsets or a direct track connection to the rest of New York City's transportation system, and a direct connection between the AirTrain, LIRR, and subway would be built at Jamaica station. Shortly after Cuomo's announcement, the Regional Plan Association published an unrelated study for a possible direct rail link between Manhattan and JFK Airport. Yet another study in September 2018, published by the MTA, examined alternatives for an LIRR rail link to JFK as part of a possible restoration of the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch. In July 2017, Cuomo's office began accepting submissions for master plans to renovate the airport. A year later, in October 2018, Cuomo released details of the project, whose cost had grown to $13 billion. The improvements included lengthening AirTrains as well as adding lanes to the Van Wyck Expressway. The Terminal 2 station was closed on July 11, 2022, prior to the permanent closure of Terminal 2 six months later. To accommodate the reconstruction of Terminal 1, the PANYNJ closed the Terminal 1 station for seven months starting on May 1, 2023. The station was reopened in December 2023.

AirTrain JFK connects the airport's terminals and parking areas with the Howard Beach and Jamaica stations. It runs entirely within the New York City borough of Queens. The system consists of three routes: two connecting the terminals with either the Howard Beach or Jamaica stations, and one route looping continuously around the central terminal area. It makes an additional stop at Lefferts Boulevard, where passengers can transfer to parking lot shuttle buses; the Q3 bus to Jamaica; the B15 bus to Brooklyn; and the limited stop Q10 bus. The segment from Howard Beach to Federal Circle, which is about 1.8 mile (3 km) long, passes over the long term and employee parking lots. The Jamaica Train route (colored red on the official map) begins and ends at the Jamaica station, adjacent to the Long Island Rail Road platforms there. The Jamaica station contains a connection to the Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport station on the New York City Subway's The terminal area loop is 1.8 mile (3 km) long.

The AirTrain has a total route length of 8.1 mile (13 km). although some turnstiles continue to accept MetroCards only. AirTrain JFK charges passengers $8.50 to enter or leave the system at the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations. In addition to single ride fares, machines also sell passes for AirTrain JFK A 30 Day AirTrain JFK MetroCard can be purchased for $40 and used for unlimited rides for 30 days after first use. A 10 Trip AirTrain JFK MetroCard is $25 and can be used for ten trips on the AirTrain within 31 days from first use. The fare to enter or exit at Howard Beach and Jamaica was originally $5, and the fare increase was approved that September. The new fares took effect on November 1, 2019, representing the first fare raise in the system's history. this fare increase took effect on March 1, 2022. The fare was increased once more to $8.25 on March 5, 2023, then to $8.50 on March 3, 2024.

AirTrain JFK uses Innovia Metro ART 200 rolling stock and technology, similar to those used on the SkyTrain in Vancouver, the Everline in Yongin, and the Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur. The system originally used pre recorded announcements by New York City traffic reporter Bernie Wagenblast, a longtime Port Authority employee. The 32 individual, non articulated Mark II vehicles operating on the line draw power from a 750 V DC top running third rail. A linear induction motor pushes magnetically against an aluminum strip in the center of the track. The vehicles also have steerable trucks that can navigate sharp curves and steep grades, as well as align precisely with the platform doors at the stations. During the first month of service, between 15,000 and 20,000 passengers rode the system each day, less than the expected daily ridership of 34,000. Nonetheless, the AirTrain JFK had become the second busiest airport transportation system in the United States. this had increased to 2.5 million by the first anniversary of the AirTrain. or 8,500 paying riders per day, although only 1,500 of these riders were employees. A New York Times article in 2009 observed that one possible factor in the AirTrain's increasing ridership was the $7.75 fare for AirTrain and subway, which was cheaper than the $52 taxi ride between Manhattan and JFK. In 2019, there were 8.7 million passengers who paid to travel between JFK Airport and either Howard Beach or Jamaica. This represented an increase of more than 300 percent from the 2.6 million riders who paid during the first full year of operation, 2004. the AirTrain had 3.4 million total riders in 2021. In , the system carried a total of passengers, or about per weekday as of .