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58-466: The Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System was a people mover system that served the Las Colinas area of Irving , a suburb of Dallas , Texas . The system had five passenger stations and a maintenance & control center, and was served by two cars, one for each route. The system used automated guideway transit technology, although it was eventually driven manually, and existed primarily for

116-400: 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,

174-461: A fare of 50 cents per ride. In July 1993, the system was closed due to rising expenses and a lack of envisioned development following the Dallas-area real estate crash. The system was mothballed and expansion plans were put on hold. Las Colinas saw a revival of fortune towards the latter half of the 1990s, and the system reopened accordingly on December 2, 1996. Eventually the system ran only on

232-638: A length of 14 miles (23 km), is the only portion of the Orange Line that is not shared with other DART light rail lines. The line's western terminus is DFW Airport Terminal A , located inside Dallas Fort Worth International Airport . The line exits the airport through the north and proceeds southeast through Irving's Las Colinas neighborhood, passing Dallas College North Lake and Irving Convention Center . The line curves around Lake Carolyn before traveling south to John Carpenter Freeway (SH 114). Turning east, it parallels SH 114, passing

290-563: A limited basis, yet the arrival of DART's Orange Line and development in the area at one point made expansion seem like a possibility. In its final era, as of June 10, 2013, the system ran Monday-Friday from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, with no service on weekends. Sometime in January 2013, the APT system was wrapped with a design, courtesy of Fastsigns , showing that the City of Irving, Texas, had received

348-565: A long debate over whether or not to make it an underground station closer to the airport. On December 5, 2007, the Dallas Morning News ran a story reporting that DART President Gary Thomas said a previous cost estimate of $ 988 million was too low. The new cost estimate for the 14-mile project was $ 1.8 – $ 1.9 billion, he said. The $ 900 million overrun in costs caused considerable outrage among political leaders in Irving, Texas ,

406-600: 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

464-552: A process to expand the system with the arrival of DART's Orange Line , creating an interchange at Tower 909 Station with DART's adjacent Las Colinas Urban Center Station . Additional possible future expansion options considered during this phase of growth include: Some, such as Gary N. Bourland, author of Las Colinas: The Inside Story of America's Premier Urban Development , cite cases of the APT System being viewed as an expensive white elephant . It has also been cited as one of

522-415: 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

580-422: 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

638-513: 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

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696-499: 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

754-565: Is serviced through a shuttle at Inwood/Love Field station ). When Denton Drive ends, the lines continue south through the Southwestern Medical District to Harry Hines Boulevard . They briefly follow Harry Hines to Interstate 35E , where they turn to follows I-35E to Downtown Dallas . Alongside the Green Line, the Orange Line enters Downtown Dallas at Victory Park . After stopping at American Airlines Center ,

812-440: Is where all vehicles were stored. Each train started its first morning journey there. The control center was staffed by an overseer during times of operation. Plans to expand the system have existed since the inception of the APT. The original plan called for a banana-shaped loop route that completely circled Lake Carolyn, but DART's Orange Line will now follow the route of the planned eastern section (although this does not block

870-526: 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

928-479: 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

986-472: The Parker Road station to Bachman station on stations shared with DART 's Red and Green lines. The first Orange Line-exclusive stations opened with the extension to Irving Convention Center on July 30, 2012, and two more were added on December 3, 2012. The current northwestern terminus, located at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , opened on August 18, 2014. Hidden Ridge Station , which

1044-691: The University of Dallas . At the former site of Texas Stadium , the line sharply redirects northeast, paralleling Storey Lane (Spur 482) and crossing the Elm Fork of the Trinity River . Upon reaching Northwest Highway (Loop 12), it curves southeast and merges with the Green Line , where it proceeds to Bachman station . Alongside the Green Line, the Orange Line travels southeast along Denton Drive, passing Dallas Love Field (which

1102-487: The 2012 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award . Since the 1996 reopening, the fare-free system was run by the Dallas County Utility and Reclamation District . It ran from 6:00am to 6:00pm on weekdays for the benefit of office workers riding to Bell Tower/Mandalay Canal Station to eat lunch at the restaurants located there, as well as DART passengers boarding at Tower 909. Phase I, which included part of

1160-635: The APT from potentially following the same path, nor is DART able to fulfill the same purpose on this route as the APT). A number of guideway supports without tracks existed north of the Urban Towers Station before they were demolished to make way for development. The Track 2/3 guideway has enough space for two lines, although currently only Track 2 is in operation. In 2012, the Dallas County Utility and Reclamation District completed

1218-650: 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

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1276-560: 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

1334-541: 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

1392-739: The Northwest Rail Operating Facility terminate at Bachman station , which is directly south of the yard. Trains entering or leaving the Central Rail Operating Facility will divert from Pearl/Arts District to the southern Green Line , stopping at Deep Ellum and Baylor University Medical Center before terminating at Fair Park . Light rail transit in the Las Colinas area was first studied in 2000 as part of DART's Northwest Corridor study. The study proposed two lines, which evolved into

1450-451: The Orange Line and Red Line continue to parallel US 75 until the corridor's terminus at Parker Road station . During non-peak hours, the line terminates at LBJ/Central station , just south of Interstate 635 . A pocket track north of I-635 is used to move trains from eastbound to westbound service. When individual trains are entering or exiting service, special termini near DART's two rail yards are used. Trains entering or leaving

1508-601: The Orange Line between DFW Airport Terminal A and Belt Line . However, by the time the Corridor was approved in 2018, expansions to SH-114 and SH-121 rendered this extension infeasible. Instead, the Silver Line was extended south to DFW Airport Terminal B by sharing tracks with TEXRail . The D2 Subway project would reroute the line's Downtown Dallas segment into a new subway tunnel between Victory and Deep Ellum with four new underground stations. The project

1566-539: The Orange Line route follows. Utility relocation and road construction was expected to delay access to portions of the construction area where the rail line and highway intersect. DART estimated that the delay could push the opening of the Las Colinas extension from December 2011 to August 2012; however, DART also advised that it was determined to keep the original schedule and minimize any delays. In June 2010, DART placed new Orange Line construction on indefinite hold due to declining revenue. However, on September 15, 2010,

1624-492: The Orange Line turns east onto Pacific Avenue, which it shares with all other DART lines. It follows Pacific Avenue, and later Bryan Street, to the east side of downtown. Along with the Red Line and Blue Line , the Orange Line turns north into a subway tunnel paralleling North Central Expressway (US 75). After passing the underground Cityplace/Uptown station , the subway tunnel ends at Mockingbird Lane . Above ground,

1682-525: 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

1740-451: The agency said that due to cost savings and federal funds, the plans for the line have been revived. On December 13, 2011, DART awarded a contract to design and build the Orange Line extension from Belt Line Road to DFW Airport, valued at about $ 150 million, with construction to start in early 2012 and an opening date of August 18, 2014, ahead of schedule. The Orange Line started operation on December 6, 2010, with weekday peak service from

1798-588: The airport's city. [REDACTED] Media related to People movers at Wikimedia Commons Orange Line (DART) The Orange Line is a 37-mile (60 km) light rail line in the Dallas, Texas metropolitan area. The line is operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit as a part of its DART light rail system. It is the only east-west line in the system. The line runs from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to northeastern Dallas, passing through Irving 's Las Colinas neighborhood and Downtown Dallas in

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1856-478: The benefit of office workers and a few local residents. Service was suspended on August 29, 2020. As of April 2021, it was announced that the Las Colinas APT is closed indefinitely. The Las Colinas APT was envisioned as an automated circulator system for the developing Las Colinas Urban Center. The long range plan called for a total of 5 miles (8 km) of dual lane guideway and 20 stations. The system

1914-470: 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

1972-444: The city the line runs through on its way to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport . The Irving leaders conducted an inquiry into the cost overruns. Texas State Representative Linda Harper Brown sent an official letter to Mr. Thomas also inquiring about the project's cost overruns. In February 2010, DART officials warned that the first two phases of the Orange Line might be delayed due to TXDOT problems along State Highway 114, which

2030-577: 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

2088-695: The contributors towards the high rate of taxation in the Las Colinas area. However, the Northwest Corridor Major Investment Study - carried out on behalf of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors - referenced the (since completed) integration of the APT system into the DART public transit network, showing that demand remained for the service's continuation and even expansion. This, however, never came to be. People mover The term

2146-468: 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

2204-561: The guideways were in place by 1983, the system was not finalized and opened until 1986, following the purchase of four cars, power and control infrastructure from AEG-Westinghouse , which has since been purchased by Bombardier Transportation . Passenger service began three years later on June 18, 1989, with the first five years of operation to be overseen by the vendor. This was part of a deal that cost $ 45 million. The system initially operated from 7 a.m. to midnight on weekdays, 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays with

2262-741: 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

2320-447: The interim. During weekday peak periods, the eastern segment of the line is extended further north to Richardson and Plano . For publicity purposes, DART light rail is divided into eight corridors, of which the Orange Line serves four. On average, an end-to-end trip on the line will take 76 minutes (if the eastern terminus is LBJ/Central) or 92 minutes (if the eastern terminus is Parker Road). The Irving/DFW Corridor, which has

2378-440: The intersection of Loop 12 and SH 114 near the former site of Texas Stadium . The city of Irving has established a redevelopment plan for the site which includes the station. South Las Colinas station would be located on Teleport Boulevard near SH 114 and a former BNSF rail corridor. It would serve as an intermodal transit center between DART light rail, a proposed Las Colinas APT System extension, and

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2436-400: The northern and western segments of the modern-day Green Line and Orange Line, respectively. In 2006, the two lines (with their current colors) were incorporated into DART's 2030 Transit System Plan, with revenue service to D/FW Airport expected in 2013. On March 12, 2007, the City of Dallas officials and DART made an agreement to make Love Field Station a surface-level facility, concluding

2494-510: The only operational stopping points for passengers on the APT system. All stations were elevated and protected from the elements. All stations except for Bell Tower/Mandalay Canal Station were accessed through private office buildings. Out of the four vehicles purchased in 1986 from Intermountain Design Inc. (IDI), only two were used on day-to-day service. Each vehicle could carry 45 passengers comfortably: 33 standing and 12 seated. The system

2552-481: The outer loop's western section and part of one inner loop, remains the only segment in service until closure. The guideway contained two tracks with space for a third if demand warrants, and is grade-separated for the length of the route. Contrary to popular rumors, the system was never meant to be expanded beyond the Las Colinas Urban Center. The four original stations and maintenance center were

2610-572: 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

2668-432: 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

2726-436: 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

2784-428: 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

2842-548: 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

2900-629: 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

2958-569: 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

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3016-583: Was operated manually, with only two trains running as demand dictates. The drivers used a small control panel that is equipped with an emergency and maintenance controls. In April 2013, Schwager Davis, Inc. signed a contract with DCURD for the Operation & Maintenance of the Las Colinas APT System. Today Schwager Davis, Inc. employees 10 people to maintain the system, dispatch the trains & (4) drivers. The Maintenance and Control Center

3074-719: Was originally applied to three different systems, developed roughly at 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,

3132-409: Was originally set for completion in 2028 but is currently on hiatus. The original Northwest Corridor plan included two stations which were deferred pending future development of their surrounding sites. To date, neither station has been constructed. While not listed as such in the original plan, Hidden Ridge station was also deferred until its opening in 2021. Loop 12 station would be located at

3190-461: Was planned with the rest of the Orange Line but deferred until further development justified its construction, opened to revenue service on April 12, 2021. When the extension to the airport was created, the western terminus of the proposed Cotton Belt Corridor (now the Silver Line ) was DFW Airport North . To enable transfers to the airport, a secondary extension would add DFW Airport North to

3248-644: 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

3306-456: Was to contain 3 inner loops and one outer loop, with passengers transferring between loops at four key interchanges. The community of Las Colinas was founded in 1973, but construction of the APT did not begin until 1979. The first phase construction contained 1.4 miles (2.3 km) of guideway and 4 stations. (As of April 2010, Phase 1 remains the only fully constructed and operational track: see Current Operation for more details.) Although

3364-594: 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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