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143-660: AirTrain JFK is an 8.1-mile-long (13 km) elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City . The driverless system operates 24/7 and consists of three lines and nine stations within the New York City borough of Queens . It connects the airport's terminals with the New York City Subway at the Howard Beach station in

286-600: 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

429-400: A continuous double track along the northern and eastern sides of the exhibition, with reversing loops at either end. The carriages ran on two parallel concrete beams and were guided by pulleys running on the inner side of these concrete beams, and were propelled by gripping a revolving screw thread running between the tracks in a pit; by adjusting the pitch of this thread at different points,

572-596: A decade before construction began, of turning Coney Island from an island into a peninsula. The Gowanus Parkway, in part replacing the demolished Fifth Avenue Line , was built as an elevated structure over Third and Hamilton Avenues in order to avoid the active docks and industrial areas including Sunset Park, Brooklyn . Like most parkways in New York State , the parkways comprising the Belt System were closed to commercial traffic, including any vehicle with

715-751: A footbridge leading from the AirTrain terminal above the LIRR tracks to the subway, as well as space for a hotel on top of it. Each station's construction was divided into nine components (such as connections to parking garages), and construction materials were customized to the specific needs of each station site.   Howard Beach Train   Jamaica Train The AirTrain has a total route length of 8.1 miles (13.0 km). The system consists of 6.0 mi (9.7 km) or 6.3 miles (10.1 km) of single-track guideway viaducts, as well as 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of double-track guideway viaducts. AirTrain JFK

858-613: A junction with the JFK Expressway and the airport. Crossing under the Van Wyck, the Belt continues east through multiple underpasses and overpasses before reaching exit 21A, westbound side, which services 150th Street and Rockaway Boulevard . Crossing under Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, the Belt passes exit 21B, which connects to Farmers Boulevard and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard. Exit 22 services Springfield Boulevard , where

1001-454: A lack of funding. The JFK Express subway service and shuttle buses provided an unpopular transport system to and around JFK. In-depth planning for a dedicated transport system at JFK began in 1990 but was ultimately cut back from a direct rail link to an intra-borough people mover. Construction of the current people-mover system began in 1998. During construction, AirTrain JFK was the subject of several lawsuits, and an operator died during one of

1144-600: A metro (e.g. Rennes , Lausanne , Brescia , etc.) are now doing so. On September 30, 2006, the Peachliner in Komaki , Aichi Prefecture , Japan, became that nation's first people mover to cease operations. Many large international airports around the world feature people mover systems to transport passengers between terminals or within a terminal itself. Some people mover systems at airports connect with other public transportation systems to allow passengers to travel into

1287-638: A new terminal for American Airlines (one of the ATA's primary members) at JFK Airport unless American dropped its opposition to the system. The ATA filed a federal lawsuit in January 1999, alleging misuse of PFC funds. In March, a federal judge vacated the project's approval because the FAA had collected and perused public comments after the public-comment deadline, but found that the PFC funds had not been misused. Additionally,

1430-471: A non-passenger registration and all commercial trucking of any size. Originally even station wagons , which had "suburban" registrations, were excluded but they were later allowed, along with passenger-registered SUVs and vans. The Belt Parkway formed the southern portion of a system of parkways and highways that connected every borough except Staten Island . At its eastern end, the Belt Parkway became

1573-776: A point on Southern Parkway, just east of the Rockaway division of the Long Island Railroad in Queens. Work on the conversion of the Sunrise Highway into a genuine parkway is already under way. This will be known as Southern Parkway. Construction began in 1934. New highway designs were implemented, including dark main roads and lighter-colored entrance and exit ramps. The parkway first opened on June 29, 1940, with most of Cross Island, Southern, and Shore Parkway sections completed. A 12-mile (19 km) bike path along

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1716-567: 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

1859-415: A system known as Cabinentaxi during the 1970s. Cabinentaxi featured small cars with from four to eight seats that were called to pick up passengers on-demand and drove directly to their destination. The stations were "offline", allowing the cabs to stop by moving off the main lines while other cars continued to their destinations. The system was designed so the cars could be adapted to run on top or bottom of

2002-422: A track network with off-line stations, and supply near non-stop service to passengers. These taxi-like systems are more usually referred to as personal rapid transit (PRT). Larger systems, with vehicles with 20 to 40 passengers, are sometimes referred to as "group rapid transit" (GRT), although this term is not particularly common. Other complex APMs have similar characteristics to rapid transit systems, and there

2145-431: A transfer, necessitated an additional fare, and lacked adequate signage. 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. Like other Port Authority properties, the AirTrain did not receive subsidies from the state or city for its operating costs. This

2288-436: A trench measuring 25 feet (7.6 m) deep, 100 feet (30 m) wide, and 1,000 feet (300 m) long. The water table was as shallow as 5 feet (1.5 m) beneath the surface, so contractors pumped water out of the trench during construction. For waterproofing, subcontractor Trevi-Icos Inc. poured a U-shaped layer of grout , measuring 80 feet (24 m) wide and between 50 and 90 feet (15 and 27 m) deep. The project

2431-448: 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. Most of the system was built one span at a time, using cranes mounted on temporary structures that erected new spans as they progressed linearly along the structures. Several sections were built using a balanced cantilever design, where two separate spans were connected to each other using

2574-513: A working title for a new attraction, the PeopleMover . According to Imagineer Bob Gurr , "the name got stuck," and it was no longer a working title. Starting in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, people movers were the topic of intense development around the world. Worried about the growing congestion and pollution in downtown areas due to the spread of cars, many countries started studying mass transit systems that would lower capital costs to

2717-451: Is 240 feet (73 m) long and can fit up to four cars. The stations include air conditioning, as well as platform screen doors that protect passengers and allow the unmanned trains to operate safely. Escalators and elevators are included in each station, and moving walkways are incorporated into the design of the terminal-area stations. Each station also contains safety systems such as CCTV cameras , alarms, and emergency contact points, and

2860-785: Is about 1.8 miles (2.9 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 E ​, ​ J , and ​ Z trains. The AirTrain and LIRR stations contain transfers to

3003-558: Is about eight minutes. The Airport Terminals Loop (colored gold on the official map), an airport terminal circulator , runs clockwise around each terminal, in the opposite direction from the Howard Beach Train and Jamaica Train routes. The terminal area loop is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) long. All AirTrain JFK stations contain elevators and are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Each platform

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3146-453: Is mostly elevated, though there are short segments that run underground or at ground level, totaling about 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Trains are operated from and maintained at a 10-acre (4 ha) train yard between Lefferts Boulevard and Federal Circle, atop a former employee parking lot. The elevated sections were built with precast single and dual guideway spans, the underground sections used cut-and-cover. The ground-level sections, including

3289-499: Is no clear cut distinction between a complex APM of this type and an automated mass transit system. Another term " light metro " is also applied to describe the system worldwide. One of the first automated systems for human transportation was the screw-driven 'Never-Stop-Railway', constructed for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley , London in 1924. This railway consisted of 88 unmanned carriages, on

3432-673: Is split into exit 6N and exit 6S, also serving Stillwell Avenue . The parkway bends eastward and crosses over the Coney Island Complex , a large railroad yard for the New York City Subway . Just before passing exit 7, the eastbound lanes cross just north of the Neptune Avenue subway station . Exit 7 eastbound services Ocean Parkway , which is met by exit 7B proceeding westbound. Westbound, exit 7A services Shell Road in Gravesend. Paralleling

3575-435: Is staffed by attendants. All the stations have island platforms except for Federal Circle, which has a bi-level split platform layout. The Jamaica and Howard Beach stations are designed as "gateway stations" to give passengers the impression of entering the airport. There are also stations at Lefferts Boulevard, as well as Terminals 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Three former terminals, numbered 3, 6, and 9, were respectively served by

3718-586: The 1990s economic recession meant that there was little chance that the Port Authority could fund the project's rising price. Following the cancellation, the planned connection to JFK Airport was downsized to a 7.5-mile (12.1 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

3861-483: The Christmas and holiday season . The system opened on December 17, 2003, 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". Newsday , which sent several reporters to test out whether

4004-526: The Erie Railroad to the Hudson and Manhattan Tubes . This unit was 227 feet (69 m) long with a rise of 22 feet (6.7 m) on a 15 degree grade , and only cost $ 75,000. A Carveyor consisted of many small cubicles or cars carrying ten people riding on a flat conveyor belt from point A to point B. The belt rode on a series of motorized rollers. The purpose of the motorized rollers was to facilitate

4147-893: The Gateway Center shopping complex. Now crossing over the Old Mill Basin section of Jamaica Bay , the Belt Parkway continues northeast in the borough of Queens , entering exit 17N–S, Cross Bay Boulevard and Cohancy Street, which also connects to the Cross Bay Bridge and towards the Rockaways. Crossing into an interchange with NY 27 , the parkway travels under the IND Rockaway Line ( A train) and passes exit 18B, which connects to Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park . Now on

4290-681: The Gowanus Expressway in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn . Paralleling Third Avenue, the parkway turns west and crosses over the Long Island Rail Road Bay Ridge Branch , a freight-only line. Bypassing Bay Ridge, the Belt passes exit 1, which services 65th–67th Streets in Bay Ridge. Crossing south past Owl's Head Park , the parkway turns southward and enters Shore Road Park, paralleling

4433-479: The New York City Board of Transportation , had several meetings with a group of architects who were trying to revamp the whole New York City Subway system in the heart of town to connect Pennsylvania Station, Madison Square Garden , Times Square, Grand Central and several new office complexes together. Several of these architects were involved in other programs, and in later years many variations of

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4576-533: The Queensboro Bridge . It would travel to LaGuardia Airport, then make two additional stops at Shea Stadium and Jamaica before proceeding to JFK. After the Port Authority found that the ridership demand might not justify the cost of the rail link, the MTA downgraded the project's priority. The proposal was supported by governor Mario Cuomo and Queens borough president Claire Shulman . The transport advocacy group Regional Plan Association (RPA) called

4719-614: The Southern Parkway (not to be confused with the Southern State Parkway ), and the Laurelton Parkway . The three parkways in the Belt Parkway are a combined 25.29 miles (40.70 km) in length. The Cross Island Parkway makes up the fourth parkway in the system, but is signed separately. The Shore Parkway, Southern Parkway, Laurelton Parkway, and Cross Island Parkway are collectively known as

4862-553: The "Belt System". The four components of the Belt System are designated as New York State Route 907C (NY 907C), NY 907D, NY 907B, and NY 907A, respectively, by the New York State Department of Transportation . All four numbers are reference route designations and are not signed . Excluding the Cross Island Parkway, the other three segments are now known collectively as

5005-583: The AirTrain terminal and some work on the LIRR station at Jamaica. Though the Jamaica station's rehabilitation was originally supposed to be finished by 2005, it was not completed until September 2006. Service was originally planned to begin on the Howard Beach branch in October 2002, followed by the Jamaica branch in 2003, but the opening was delayed because of incidents during testing. In July 2002, three workers were injured during an AirTrain derailment. By

5148-506: 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. The Jamaica Center Mall, Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building, the Civil Court, and a Food and Drug Administration laboratory and offices were all built in

5291-510: 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 United States Congress provided almost $ 2 million in November 2000 for wayfinding, marketing, and access projects and a study related to

5434-489: The AirTrain. The system was ready for its first test trains by the end of the year, and two AirTrain cars were delivered and tested after the system's guideway rails were complete by March 2001. By then, workers had completed 140 columns for the guideways in the Van Wyck Expressway's median. The guideways themselves were completed that August. Although the Port Authority had planned to award 17% of contracts for

5577-621: The Belt Parkway begins to parallel a Long Island Rail Road line through Laurelton . Westbound, exit 23A services North Conduit Boulevard (NY 27) and 225th Street, while eastbound, exit 23B services NY 27 and the Sunrise Highway . At this junction, the parkway turns northeast and joins the Laurelton Parkway segment, which connects to exit 24A, Merrick Boulevard (also known as Floyd H. Flake Boulevard ) in both directions, and Francis Lewis Boulevard on

5720-647: The Belt Parkway continues east through Floyd Bennett Field, crossing over the Mill Basin Drawbridge into Brooklyn Beach and passes the entrance to the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy , the only business served directly on the parkway. Crossing over another bridge, the parkway enters the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. The parkway, now running northeast, parallels a bicycle path, reaching Canarsie Pier and exit 13, which serves as

5863-798: The Belt Parkway crosses over the Southern State and becomes the Cross Island Parkway , which continues north through Queens, connecting to I-495 , the Grand Central Parkway and eventually I-678, the Whitestone Expressway. The Belt Parkway was proposed by public official and highway advocate Robert Moses on February 25, 1930 to provide highway access to Manhattan and to connect to, and use similar design principles to, parkways already constructed on Long Island and Westchester County, New York . At

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6006-650: The Carveyor people movers were developed. In November 1954 the New York City Transit Authority issued an order to Goodyear and Stephens-Adamson to build a complete Carveyor system between Times Square and Grand Central. A brief summary and confirmation can be found in Time magazine on November 15, 1954. under the heading "Subway of the Future". The cost was to be under $ 4 million, but the order

6149-474: 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

6292-981: The Cross Island Parkway, which connected to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge and the Hutchinson River Parkway in the east Bronx. At its western end, the Belt Parkway led to the Gowanus Parkway, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel , the West Side Elevated Highway , and the Henry Hudson Parkway to the west Bronx. The Henry Hudson and Hutchinson River parkways were connected in the Bronx via Van Cortlandt Park , Mosholu Parkway , and Pelham Parkway , all of which were service-level roads. Some portions of

6435-560: The Downtown People Mover Program. Four systems were developed, Rohr 's ROMAG , LTV 's AirTrans , Ford 's APT and Otis Elevator 's hovercraft design. A major presentation of the systems was organized as TRANSPO'72 at Dulles International Airport , where the various systems were presented to delegations from numerous cities in the US. Prototype systems and test tracks were built during the 1970s. One notable example

6578-399: The FAA to allow the public to discuss the PFC charges. 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. There were multiple protests against the project, such as in 2000, when a crane caught fire in a suspected arson . Homeowners believed the concrete viaducts would lower

6721-573: 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

6864-541: The Industrial Products Division of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. , if Goodyear had ever considered working on People Movers. He felt that with Goodyear's ability to move materials in large quantities on conveyor belts they should consider moving batches of people. Four years of engineering design, development and testing led to a joint patent being issued for three types of people movers, named Speedwalk, Speedramp, and Carveyor. Goodyear would sell

7007-443: 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. Plans to extend the AirTrain to Manhattan were examined even before the system's opening. In 1998, the Port Authority examined the possibility of reactivating the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch , allowing LIRR trains to run from Manhattan directly onto

7150-422: The LIRR and AirTrain were faster than a car and a taxi, said the AirTrain was ideal for people "looking for a modern ride removed from the stresses of the roadway". The New York Daily News said that riders had mixed opinions of the new system. A writer for The New York Times said that, while the system was superior to the bus routes that it replaced, the AirTrain was "a complicated travel experience" that required

7293-472: The Manhattan terminal should be located. The Port Authority had suggested the heavily trafficked corner of Lexington Avenue and 59th Street , though many nearby residents opposed the Manhattan terminal outright. The Port Authority did not consider a connection to the more-highly used Grand Central Terminal or Penn Station because such a connection would have been too expensive and complicated. To pay for

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7436-629: The New York City Parks Department proposed the Belt Parkway in the following outline: The Circumferential Parkway begins at Owl's Head Park at the Narrows, and follows the Shore Drive through Fort Hamilton and Dyker Beach Park. The City of New York was vested title in an extension along Gravesend Bay to Bensonhurst Park, and is about to acquire the remaining rights-of-way up to Guilder Avenue, including sufficient land for

7579-414: 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. DeBourgh's family sued the Port Authority and Bombardier in September 2003, as

7722-475: The Port Authority had estimated that the AirTrain JFK would carry 12.4 million passengers a year. The area was rezoned in September 2007, and the first development to be proposed in the rezoned area, a 13-story merchandise mart and showroom building, was announced the next month. 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

7865-425: 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

8008-539: The Port Authority introduced a Passenger Facility Charge (PFC), a $ 3 tax on every passenger departing from JFK, which would provide $ 120 million annually. 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. The rail line was to begin in Midtown Manhattan, crossing the East River into Queens via

8151-515: The Port Authority permission to collect PFC funds for the Howard Beach branch and the terminal section, but not for the branch to Jamaica. The Port Authority's final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the JFK people mover, released in 1997, examined eight possibilities. Ultimately, the Port Authority opted for a light rail system with the qualities of a people mover, tentatively called the JFK Light Rail System. It would replace

8294-630: The Port Authority. Trains to and from Jamaica and Howard Beach were originally planned to run every two minutes during peak hours, with alternate trains traveling to each branch. The final environmental impact statement projected that trains in the central terminal area would run every ninety seconds. By 2014 actual frequencies were much lower: each branch was served by one train every seven to 12 minutes during peak hours. Trains arrived every 10 to 15 minutes on each branch during weekdays; every 15 to 20 minutes during late nights; and every 16 minutes during weekends. The Howard Beach Train route (colored green on

8437-402: The Southern Brooklyn section of the Belt Parkway opened in 1941. The construction of Belt Parkway entailed: All the original parkways, except the Gowanus, were built on grassy rights-of-way with trees, in a more green surrounding than most highways of their time. To build sections between exits 7 and 8 in the 1930s parts of Coney Island Creek were filled in, finishing the process, begun over

8580-415: The Southern Parkway section of the Belt, the Belt continues eastward into exit 19, which connects to NY 878 (the Nassau Expressway) and indirectly with I-678 , the Van Wyck Expressway. This interchange also serves as access to John F. Kennedy International Airport . Now with North and South Conduit Avenues serving as westbound and eastbound frontage roads for the parkway, passing exit 20,

8723-409: The United States. Driverless metros have become common in Europe and parts of Asia. The economics of automated trains tend to reduce the scale so tied to "mass" transit (the largest operating expense is the driver's salary, which is only affordable if very large numbers of passengers are paying fares), so that small-scale installations are feasible . Thus cities normally thought of as too small to build

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8866-540: The Van Wyck Expressway. Workers fabricated 5,500 precast concrete sections in Cape Charles, Virginia , which were then shipped to Camden, New Jersey , before being installed in Queens. The elevated structures use seismic isolation bearings and soundproof barriers to protect from small earthquakes as well as prevent noise pollution . AirTrain JFK's tunnels, all within the airport, pass beneath two taxiways and several highway ramps. The AirTrain runs on steel tracks that are continuously welded across all joints except at

9009-412: The administration of governor George Pataki directed the Port Authority to devise and finalize revised plans for the JFK rail link. 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. In addition,

9152-512: The airport as part of the Program for Action , an ambitious transportation expansion program for the New York City area. Ultimately, the rail link was canceled altogether due to the New York City fiscal crisis of 1975. Another proposal, made by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1987, called for a rail line to connect all of JFK Airport's terminals with a new $ 500 million transportation center. The Port Authority withdrew its plans in 1990 after airlines objected that they could not fund

9295-424: The airport can ride for free. The system was originally projected to carry 4 million annual paying passengers and 8.4 million annual inter-terminal passengers every year. The AirTrain has consistently exceeded these projections since opening. In 2023, the system carried a total of 6,737,100 passengers, or about 29,000 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. The first proposal for a direct rail link to JFK Airport

9438-400: The airport had recorded 31.7 million travelers in 2003. Early riders had difficulty finding the trains because navigational signs were still covered up. In its first month of service, the system experienced several outages, delays, and lower-than-expected ridership, and some travelers could not easily find the system because it was not shown on LIRR and subway maps. These issues had subsided by

9581-409: The airport itself, sued the FAA the next month, saying the light rail project was using the funds illegally. 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

9724-409: The airport's city. [REDACTED] Media related to People movers at Wikimedia Commons Belt Parkway The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of controlled-access parkways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens . The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as the Belt System : the Shore Parkway ,

9867-469: 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

10010-418: The carriages could be sped up, or slowed down to a walking pace at stations, to allow passengers to join and leave. The railway ran reliably for the two years of the exhibition, and was then dismantled. In late 1949, Mike Kendall, chief engineer and Chairman of the Board of Stephens-Adamson Manufacturing Company, an Illinois-based manufacturer of conveyor belts and systems , asked Al Neilson, an engineer in

10153-577: The concept and Stephens-Adamson would manufacture and install the components. A Speedwalk consisted of a flat conveyor belt riding on a series of rollers, or a flat slippery surface, moving at 1.5 mph (2.4 km/h) (approximately half the speed of walking). The passengers would walk onto the belt and could stand or walk to the exit point. They were supported by a moving handrail . Customers were expected to include airport terminals , ballparks , train stations , etc. Today, several manufacturers produce similar units called moving walkways . A Speedramp

10296-645: The conversion of Guilder Avenue into a genuine parkway with service roads. It is proposed to acquire the rights-of-way for the extension of Guilder Avenue by means of a new parkway parallel to, and north of Emmons Avenue to the Marine Parkway extension, for which land is already in the possession of the City. It is proposed to carry the Circumferential Parkway from Flatbush Avenue where the Marine Parkway extension ends, along or near Jamaica Bay to

10439-511: 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

10582-450: The eastbound lanes. Exit 24B on the eastbound lanes connects also to Merrick Boulevard and 130th Avenue and on the westbound lanes connect Francis Lewis Boulevard. Just after crossing under 130th Avenue, the Belt passes exit 25A–B. At this interchange, the Laurelton Parkway segment ends, with exit 25A connecting to the western terminus of the Southern State Parkway and exit 25B servicing Elmont Road. At this interchange,

10725-422: 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,

10868-402: The end of 1999, the columns in the Van Wyck's median were being erected, and half of the viaduct spans had been built, although only fifteen percent of the system was finished at the time. The project also included $ 80 million of tunnels within the airport, which was built using a cut-and-cover method; the tunnels had been among the first contracts to be awarded. Two shifts of workers excavated

11011-488: The eponymous neighborhood , and with the Long Island Rail Road and the subway in the Jamaica neighborhood. Alstom operates AirTrain JFK under contract to the airport's operator, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . A railroad link to JFK Airport had been proposed since the 1940s. Various plans surfaced to build a JFK Airport rail connection until the 1990s, though these were not carried out because of

11154-457: 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

11297-451: The five years before the AirTrain opened. As early as 2000, local leaders had envisioned hotels, offices, and parking around the AirTrain station in Jamaica. One development firm began constructing a 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m) office building at the site in 2001. Another project, a 250-room hotel above the AirTrain terminal, was deferred after the September 11 attacks. By mid-2003, a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m), 16-story building

11440-566: The following year. In August 1995, the FAA approved the Port Authority's request to use the PFC funds for the monorail plan (the agency had already collected $ 114 million, and was planning to collect another $ 325 million). After the monorail was approved, the Port Authority hoped to begin construction in 1997 and open the line by 2002. The Port Authority voted to proceed with the scaled-down system in May 1996, and it simultaneously set aside $ 25 million for planning and engineering. The FAA had already given

11583-468: The gradual acceleration and deceleration speeds on the conveyor belt and overcome the tendency of all belts to stretch at start up and during shutdown. At point "A" passengers would enter a Speedwalk running parallel to the belts and cars of the Carveyor. The cars would be moving at the same speed as the Speedwalk; the passengers would enter the cars and be seated, while the motorized rollers would increase

11726-677: The immaturity of the technology and other factors, led the Port Authority to abandon the project and pursue alternatives. By the start of the 1980s most politicians had lost interest in the concept and the project was repeatedly de-funded in the early 1980s. Only two APMs were developed as a part of the People Mover Program in the U.S., the Metromover in Miami , and the Detroit People Mover . The Jacksonville Skyway

11869-507: The judge found that the Port Authority and FAA had shut the ATA out of discussions. The FAA opened a second request for public comment and approved the project for the second time in August 1999. The ATA and two local advocacy groups appealed the funding decision in late 1999. The advocacy groups filed a second federal lawsuit in 2000, claiming that the FEIS had included misleading statements about

12012-499: The namesake Neptune Avenue, the parkway enters Sheepshead Bay and connections to Coney Island . At exit 8, the Belt Parkway connects to Coney Island Avenue , approaching the namesake bay as it continues east. Paralleling Emmons Avenue through Sheepshead Bay, the parkway passes exit 9A eastbound, which connects to Knapp Street and exit 9B, which is a ramp to the eastern end of Emmons Avenue. Westbound, exit 9 services Knapp Street. Crossing south of Gerritsen Beach ,

12155-501: 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

12298-483: The new Jamaica terminal was being unveiled. 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 's maiden flight, as well as to accommodate increased air traffic for

12441-519: The new line, and created an environmental impact statement (EIS). The project's budget had grown to $ 2.6 billion by that year. The EIS, conducted by the New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), found the plan to be feasible, though the project attracted opposition from area residents and advocacy groups. The project was to start in 1996, but there were disputes over where

12584-593: 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. Bombardier employee Kelvin DeBourgh was piloting a test train with concrete ballast blocks when his train derailed in September 2002, causing the blocks to tilt forward and kill him. DeBourgh's death prompted an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which found that

12727-615: The official "Belt Parkway". It is designated an east–west route, and its exit numbering system begins, in standard fashion, at the western terminus of the Shore Parkway, the westernmost parkway in the system. The numbering increases as the parkway proceeds eastward, and continues onto the Cross Island at the eastern terminus of the Belt Parkway. The north–south parkway retains the numbering scheme to its northern terminus. The Belt Parkway begins at an interchange (exit 22) with

12870-569: The official map) begins and ends at the Howard Beach–JFK Airport station , where there is a direct transfer to the New York City Subway 's A train. 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

13013-549: The original system were converted to expressways , which could be used by commercial traffic. The Gowanus Expressway replaced the Gowanus Parkway in 1950 and became part of the Interstate Highway System as I-278. The Whitestone Parkway was expanded into the Whitestone Expressway starting in 1957; it also became an Interstate Highway and is signed as part of I-678 . In the late 1940s,

13156-477: The park, the Belt begins to parallel Cropsey Avenue and passes another parking area before reaching exit 5, a junction with Bay Parkway . This marks the eastern end of Dyker Beach Park, and the route begins to parallel shoreline strip malls before reaching Calvert Vaux Park . Now in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, the Belt passes exit 6, which connects to Cropsey Avenue. Westbound, this junction

13299-613: The parkway passes south of the Plum Beach Channel and passes a small rest area on the eastbound lanes. Turning northeast through the Floyd Bennett Field area, the parkway bends north and passes a service area with gas services in the median. Just north of the service area, the Belt passes exit 11N–S, a cloverleaf interchange which connects to Flatbush Avenue and the Rockaways . After exit 11N,

13442-474: The parkway was removed in 1972. In the 1980s, the viaduct carrying traffic over the Coney Island Yard was reconstructed. In September 2002, Exit 15 was opened to serve the nearby Gateway Center commercial development. in 2005, a project to reconstruct Exit 17 was competed. The old cloverleaf interchange was demolished, and a new Dimond interchange with wider deacceleration lanes and gentler turns

13585-581: The parkway was widened in its entirety. In 1969, the New York City Council co-named the Belt Parkway Leif Ericson Drive between exit 2 and exit 9, to recognize the large Scandinavian population in Bay Ridge. By 1970, signage on much of the parkway's length (except for the Cross Island Parkway section) had been replaced by signs reading "Belt Parkway". The segment of NY 27A that ran concurrently with

13728-492: The plan "misguided", and the East Side Coalition on Airport Access's executive director said, "We are going to end up with another [...] uncompleted project in this city." The Port Authority started reviewing blueprints for the JFK rail link in 1992. At the time, it was thought that the link could be partially open within six years. In 1994, the Port Authority set aside $ 40 million for engineering and marketing of

13871-572: The point where any city could afford to deploy them. Most of these systems used elevated guideways, which were much less expensive to deploy than tunnels. However, elevating the track causes problems with noise, so traditional steel-wheel-on-rail solutions were rare as they squealed when rounding bends in the rails. Rubber tired solutions were common, but some systems used hovercraft techniques or various magnetic levitation systems. Two major government funded APM projects are notable. In Germany, Mannesmann Demag and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm developed

14014-518: The preceding 30 years, while the Engineering News-Record said 22 such proposals had failed. 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

14157-421: The project could lose $ 100 million worth of federal funds. Giuliani agreed to the plan in October 1997, when the state agreed to reimburse the city for its share of the system's cost. As part of the agreement, the state would also conduct a study on a similar train link to LaGuardia Airport. By that time, the Port Authority had collected $ 441 million in PFC funds. An artist's impression of the proposed people mover

14300-453: The project's $ 200 million cost difference, said he would not allow construction to begin unless the funding dispute was resolved. Construction of the system ultimately began in May 1998, 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

14443-414: The project, the Port Authority would charge a one-way ticket price of between $ 9 and $ 12. By February 1995, the cost of the planned link had increased to over $ 3 billion in the previous year alone. As a result, the Port Authority considered abridging the rail link plan, seeking federal and state funding, partnering with private investors, or terminating the line at a Queens subway station. The following month,

14586-517: 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

14729-554: The proposal as being ineffective without a direct link to Manhattan, citing the failure of the JFK Express. 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

14872-524: The proposal. 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 route carried subway passengers to the Howard Beach station, where passengers would ride shuttle buses to the airport. The shuttle buses transported passengers between the different airport terminals within JFK's Central Terminal Area, as well as between Howard Beach and

15015-515: 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

15158-450: The routes share track for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and enter a tunnel before the tracks separate in two directions for the 2-mile (3.2 km) terminal loop. Both routes continue counterclockwise around the loop, stopping at Terminals 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 in that order. A connection to the Q3 local bus is available at Terminal 8. The travel time from either Jamaica or Howard Beach to the JFK terminals

15301-647: The same time. One was Skybus , an automated mass transit system prototyped by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation beginning in 1964. The second, alternately called the People Mover and Minirail , opened in Montreal at Expo 67. Finally the last, called PeopleMover or WEDway PeopleMover, was an attraction that was originally presented by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and that opened at Disneyland in 1967. Now, however,

15444-606: The shore of the Upper New York Bay . The eastbound lanes of the Belt Parkway pass several small parking areas that serve as viewing spots for the bay. Connections across the parkway to Bay Ridge are also present at these parking areas. Beginning the bend to the southeast, the parkway passes Andrew Lehman Field . Just east of the field, the Belt Parkway comes within the shadows of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and passes exit 2, which serves as

15587-479: The shuttle buses and run to Jamaica and Howard Beach. The FEIS determined that an automated system with frequent headways was the best design. 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

15730-542: 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 Air Transportation Association of America (ATA), which argued that FPC funds could only be used for projects within

15873-561: The southern end of Rockaway Parkway . Crossing over another bridge over Spring Creek, the parkway passes exit 14, which connects to Pennsylvania Avenue in Starrett City . The interchange is adjacent to the former Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill . After crossing another waterway, Hendrix Creek, the Belt passes the former Fountain Avenue Landfill and passes exit 15, a diamond interchange with Erskine Street leading to

16016-509: The southern terminus of Fourth Avenue . After crossing under the bridge, the westbound lanes enter exit 3 which connects to the Verrazzano. Eastbound, the lanes from the bridge connecting to the Belt merge in, as the road enters Dyker Beach Park and Golf Course . During a short gap away from the shore, the Belt passes a parking area for Dyker Beach Park, entering exit 4, which services Bay 8th Street and 14th Avenue. Continuing along

16159-407: The span-by-span method. The Jamaica branch's location above the median of the busy Van Wyck Expressway, combined with the varying length and curves of the track spans, caused complications during construction. One lane of the Van Wyck had to be closed in each direction during off-peak hours, causing congestion. The Port Authority also installed new sidewalks, plantings, and fences along the Van Wyck. By

16302-432: The speed of the cars up to the traveling speed (which would be preset depending on the distance to be covered). At point B Passengers could disembark and by means of a series of flat slower belts (Speedwalks) go to other Carveyors to other destinations or out to the street. The cars at point B would continue on rollers around a semicircle and then reverse the process carrying passengers back to point A. The initial installation

16445-518: The stations that were later renamed Terminals 2, 5, and 8. The four stations outside the Central Terminal Area were originally designated with the letters A–D alongside their names; the letters were later dropped. After Terminal 2 station closed in 2022, Terminal 1 station temporarily served passengers for both terminals until the closure of Terminal 2 in January 2023. STV Inc., the AirTrain's main architectural and engineering designer,

16588-440: The subway, as well as to ground-level bus routes. West of Jamaica, the line travels above the north side of 94th Avenue before curving southward onto the Van Wyck Expressway. The segment from Jamaica to Federal Circle is about 3.1 miles (5.0 km) long. The Howard Beach Train and Jamaica Train routes merge at Federal Circle for car rental companies and shuttle buses to hotels and the airport's cargo areas. South of Federal Circle,

16731-519: The system would attract businesses to downtown Jamaica and create jobs. 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. Opponents claimed that the system had not undergone the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure process, and more than 90 local organizations wanted

16874-407: The system's test runs. The system opened on December 17, 2003, after many delays. Several improvements were proposed after the system's opening, including an unbuilt extension to Manhattan . AirTrain JFK originally had ten stations, but the Terminal 2 stop was closed in 2022. All passengers entering or exiting at either Jamaica or Howard Beach must pay an $ 8.50 fare, while passengers traveling within

17017-466: 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,

17160-436: The term "people mover" is generic, and may use technologies such as monorail , rail tracks or maglev . Propulsion may involve conventional on-board electric motors, linear motors or cable traction . Generally speaking, larger APMs are referred to by other names. The most generic is "automated guideway transit", which encompasses any automated system regardless of size. Some complex APMs deploy fleets of small vehicles over

17303-512: 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. By the 1990s, there was demand for a direct link between Midtown Manhattan and JFK Airport, which are 15 miles (24 km) apart by road. At the time, the airport was only served by two highways: the Belt Parkway and Van Wyck Expressway . During rush hour,

17446-444: The terminals; the guideway viaducts are also continuously joined. Trains use double crossovers at the Jamaica and Howard Beach terminals in order to switch to the track going in the opposite direction. There are also crossover switches north and south of Federal Circle, counterclockwise from Terminal 8, and clockwise from Terminal 1. People mover The term was originally applied to three different systems, developed roughly at

17589-569: The time, the Belt project was referred to as the "Marginal Boulevard". The Belt system was part of a "Metropolitan Loop" running through all five boroughs of New York City as well as New Jersey , proposed by the Regional Plan Association in 1929. Other highways proposed in this loop included the future Cross Bronx Expressway and Staten Island Expressway . In a 1937 report titled "New Parkways in New York City",

17732-428: The track (but not easily converted from one to the other), allowing dual-track movements from a single elevated guideway only slightly wider than the cars. A test track was completed in 1975 and ran until development was completed in 1979, but no deployments followed and the companies abandoned the system shortly thereafter. In the U.S., a 1966 federal bill provided funding that led to the development of APM systems under

17875-416: The train had been speeding on a curve; in particular, it had been going as fast as 55 mph (89 km/h) on a segment of track that was meant to be traversed at 25 mph (40 km/h). 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,

18018-429: The train yards, used concrete ties and ballast trackbeds . The single guideway viaducts carry one track each and are 19 feet 3 inches (5.87 m) wide, while the double guideway viaducts carry two tracks each and are 31 feet 0 inches (9.45 m) wide. Columns support the precast concrete elevated sections at intervals of up to 40 feet (12 m). The elevated structures run up to 40 feet above

18161-401: The travel time from JFK to Manhattan could average up to 80 minutes by bus; during off-peak hours, a New York City taxi could make that journey in 45 minutes, while a bus could cover the same distance in an hour. The Port Authority, foreseeing economic growth for the New York City area and increased air traffic at JFK, began planning for a direct rail link from the airport to Manhattan. In 1991,

18304-413: The value of their houses, and some residents reported that vibrations from construction had caused their homes to shake and crack. Residents were also concerned about the noise that an elevated structure would create; according to a 2012 study, the majority of residents' complaints were due to "nuisance violations". In light of the ATA's 1998 lawsuit, the Port Authority threatened to halt the development of

18447-485: Was Pittsburgh 's Skybus, which was proposed by the Port Authority of Allegheny County to replace its streetcar system, which, having large stretches of private right of way, was not suited for bus conversion. A short demonstration line was set up in South Park and large tracts of land were secured for its facilities. However, opposition arose to the notion that it would replace the streetcar system. This, combined with

18590-460: Was being planned on Sutphin Boulevard across from the Jamaica station; this structure was the first building in a planned mixed-use development spanning 4,500,000 square feet (420,000 m). After AirTrain JFK began operating, Jamaica saw a boom in commerce, and the area around Sutphin Boulevard in particular was expected to attract more business activity. A 15-screen movie theater opened in

18733-629: Was built in the late 1980s. Although many systems were generally considered failures, several APM systems developed by other groups have been much more successful. Lighter systems with shorter tracks are widely deployed at airports; the world's first airport people movers, the Tampa International Airport People Movers , were installed in 1971 at Tampa International Airport in the United States . APMs have now become common at large airports and hospitals in

18876-589: Was constructed in its place. In October 2009, NYCDOT launched the first phase of a capital project to reconstruct seven obsolete bridges along the Belt Parkway. The first phase included the reconstruction of an overpass ramp from Guider Avenue, as well as the replacement of the Paerdegat Basin and Rockaway Parkway bridges, which was completed in 2012. In 2021, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed widening

19019-542: 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. Community leaders supported the project because of its connections to the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations. Proponents, including retired U.S. congressman Floyd Flake and the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, claimed

19162-480: 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 opened in 2023, connecting the East Side of Manhattan to the Jamaica station. However, 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

19305-412: Was made in the mid-1940s, when a rail line was proposed for the median of the Van Wyck Expressway, connecting Midtown Manhattan with the airport. New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses , at the time an influential urban planner in the New York City area, refused to consider the idea. In 1968, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) suggested extending the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to

19448-569: Was never fulfilled due to political difficulties. Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania , Disneyland in California, and Walt Disney World in Florida are among many locations that have used variations of the Carveyor concept. The term 'people mover' was used by Walt Disney , when he and his Imagineers were working on the new 1967 Tomorrowland at Disneyland . The name was used as

19591-511: 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; the Port Authority planned to spend $ 326 million on

19734-449: Was one of the reasons cited for the system's relatively high initial $ 5 fare, which was more than twice the subway's fare at the time of the AirTrain's opening. The Port Authority predicted that the AirTrain's opening would create 118 jobs at JFK Airport. 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,

19877-464: 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, and local newspaper Newsday criticized

20020-526: 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 is operated by Alstom (which purchased Bombardier in 2021) under contract to

20163-402: Was tasked with creating a consistent design for the stations and infrastructure. The Jamaica station was designed by Voorsanger Architects, and Robert Davidson of the Port Authority's in-house architecture department designed the Howard Beach station. Most stations in the airport are outdoors, but the Terminal 4 station is within the mezzanine of that terminal. The Jamaica station was designed with

20306-582: Was to be the 42nd Street Shuttle in New York City between Times Square and Grand Central station. The first mention of the Carveyor in a hardback book was in There's Adventure in Civil Engineering by Neil P. Ruzic (1958), one of a series of books published by Popular Mechanics in the 1950s in their "Career" series. In the book the Carveyor was already installed and operational in downtown Los Angeles. Colonel Sydney H. Bingham, Chairman of

20449-594: Was very similar to a Speedwalk but it was used to change elevations; up or down a floor level. This could have been accomplished by an escalator, but the Speedramp would allow wheeled luggage, small handcarts etc. to ride the belt at an operating cost predicted to be much lower than escalators or elevators . The first successful installation of a Speedramp was in the spring of 1954 at the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Station in Jersey City, New Jersey , to connect

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