AirTrain (San Francisco International Airport)

{{Short description|People mover at San Francisco International Airport}} {{Use American English|date=April 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox public transit | name = AirTrain | image = AirTrain nearing West Field Road station, July 2018.JPG | imagesize = 320px | alt = A people mover train on an elevated guideway | caption = AirTrain nearing West Field Road station in 2018 | owner = San Francisco Airports Commission | area served = | locale = [[San Francisco International Airport]] | transit_type = [[People mover]] | lines = 2 | stations = 11 | daily_ridership = | annual_ridership = | headquarters = | website = {{URL|https://www.flysfo.com/passengers/ground-transportation/getting-around-sfo|AirTrain}} | began_operation = {{Start date and age|2003|02|24}} | operator = San Francisco Airports Commission | character = [[Automated people mover]] | vehicles = 38 [[Innovia APM 100]] | train_length = | headway = | system_length = {{convert|3|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} | notrack = 2 | minimum_radius_of_curvature =  | average_speed =  | top_speed = {{convert|30|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2003 |title=AirTrain Fact Sheet |url=https://www.flysfo.com/sites/default/files/default/download/about/news/pressres/fact-sheet/pdf/AirTrain_Fact_Sheet.pdf |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website= San Francisco Airports Commission}}</ref> | map = {{switcher | {{maplink-road|from=AirTrain (San Francisco International Airport).map}} Red Line highlighted in red, Blue Line highlighted in blue <hr /> | Show interactive map | [[File:SFO AirTrain web map October 2024.webp|275px]] | Show static map | {{AirTrain (San Francisco International Airport)|inline=yes}} | Show route diagram }} }}

'''AirTrain''' is a fully [[automated people mover]] at [[San Francisco International Airport]] (SFO) that opened on February 24, 2003. It operates 24 hours a day on two separate lines, covering a total of {{convert|3|mi|spell=in}}. The service charges no [[fare]]s; it is funded by a fee charged to [[rental car]] customers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Douglas Greenberg |date=April 19, 2012 |title=SFO rental car co's may be mischarging $20 fee |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://blog.sfgate.com/dgreenberg/2012/04/19/sfo-rental-car-cos-may-be-mischarging-20-fee/}}</ref> The system is located outside of the [[sterile area]] of each [[airport terminal|terminal]], meaning passengers must exit and re-enter through a [[security checkpoint]] when using AirTrain to travel between terminals.

== Lines and stations == AirTrain operates on two lines—Red Line and Blue Line—both of which run every four minutes. The Red Line travels in a clockwise loop around the central terminal area, which takes about nine minutes to complete. The Blue Line travels in a counterclockwise loop, serving the same stations in reverse order, and also proceeding to West Field Road, the Rental Car Center, and long-term parking, which takes 25 minutes for a round trip.<ref name=":0" />

{{clear left}} {|class="wikitable" !Station !Lines !Notes |- |{{visible anchor|Grand Hyatt at SFO|Grand Hyatt}} | rowspan="8" |{{Color box|#c42524}} Red Line<br />{{Color box|#43b0dc}} Blue Line |Airport hotel |- |{{visible anchor|Garage A}} | |- |[[San Francisco International Airport#International Terminal|International Terminal A]] | |- |[[San Francisco International Airport#Harvey Milk Terminal 1|Harvey Milk Terminal 1]] | |- |[[San Francisco International Airport#Terminal 2|Terminal 2]] |Services Terminal 3 during closure of its station |- |[[San Francisco International Airport#Terminal 3|Terminal 3]] |{{update after|2027|text=Closed until 2027 for Terminal 3 West renovation}} |- |[[San Francisco International Airport#International Terminal|International Terminal G]] | |- |[[San Francisco International Airport station|Garage G / BART]] |Transfer to [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] |- |{{visible anchor|West Field Road}} | rowspan="3" |{{Color box|#43b0dc}} Blue Line |West [[air cargo|cargo]] area facilities/employee parking |- |{{visible anchor|Rental Car Center}} | |- |{{visible anchor|Long-Term Parking}} | |} [[File:SFO Wind Portal, 2025.jpg|thumb|left|AirTrain floor above the BART station at Garage G]] The AirTrain stations at the International Terminal are located one level above ticketing, at both ends of the main hall. Stations at Terminals 1, 2, and 3 are located on level 5 of the domestic parking garage and can be accessed from mezzanine-level [[Skyway|skybridges]] located near security checkpoints B, D, and F. The Garage A and G stations are accessible from level 7 of each garage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Getting Around SFO {{!}} San Francisco International Airport |url=https://www.flysfo.com/to-from/getting-around-sfo |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=FlySFO {{!}} San Francisco International Airport}}</ref> The long-term parking station is connected by a skybridge to level 5 of the long-term parking garage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Long-Term Parking {{!}} San Francisco International Airport |url=https://www.flysfo.com/to-from/parking/long-term |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=FlySFO {{!}} San Francisco International Airport}}</ref> The Garage G station is one level above the BART station at SFO, serving as the system's point of connection with external rail transit.

==History== The AirTrain system opened on March 3, 2003, at a cost of $430 million. It was developed alongside other major early-2000s improvements at the airport, including construction of the International Terminal, two parking garages, and the BART station. The initial system connected the airport’s four terminals, three parking garages, the consolidated Rental Car Center, and the BART station. Its operation enabled the removal of rental car shuttle buses, reducing roadway congestion and improving air quality around the terminal complex.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 27, 2003 |title=Mayor Brown to Inaugurate SFO AirTrain System |url=https://www.flysfo.com/sites/default/files/SF-03-10.pdf|access-date=February 16, 2026|website=San Francisco International Airport}}</ref>

A $15 million [[infill station]] was constructed to serve the Grand [[Hyatt]] at SFO, a new airport hotel.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sabatini |first=Joshua |date=December 2, 2015 |title=San Francisco selects Hyatt to manage airport hotel |work=San Francisco Examiner |url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/san-francisco-selects-hyatt-to-manage-airport-hotel/ |access-date=December 28, 2018 |archive-date=December 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229171555/http://www.sfexaminer.com/san-francisco-selects-hyatt-to-manage-airport-hotel/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The hotel opened on October 7, 2019.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Hyatt and San Francisco International Airport Proudly Announce Opening of Grand Hyatt at SFO |date=October 7, 2019 |publisher=San Francisco International Airport |url=https://www.flysfo.com/media/press-releases/hyatt-and-san-francisco-international-airport-proudly-announce-opening-grand |last1=Yakel |first1=Doug}}</ref>

AirTrain did not originally provide access to SFO's long-term parking garage and lots; instead, passengers had to take a free airport shuttle bus between the airport terminals and the long-term parking areas. The original end of the track past the Rental Car Center station was only about {{convert|600|yd|m}} away from the airport's long-term parking garage; an extension to the garage began service in May 2021, replacing the shuttle buses.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=SFO Completes AirTrain Extension to Long-Term Parking {{!}} San Francisco International Airport |url=https://www.flysfo.com/media/press-releases/sfo-completes-airtrain-extension-long-term-parking |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=FlySFO {{!}} San Francisco International Airport|date=May 5, 2021 }}</ref> The extension is estimated to eliminate {{Convert|600,000|miles|km}} previously driven by the shuttle buses each year.<ref name=":0" />

The Harvey Milk Terminal 1 station was closed from July 2021 to April 26, 2023, during reconstruction of the terminal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/transit/sfo-airtrain-station-will-reopen-at-harvey-milk-terminal-1/article_16388ff8-e2de-11ed-85ab-239c76a90b27.html |title=SFO Harvey Milk Terminal 1 travel option returns this week |first=James |last=Salazar |newspaper=San Francisco Examiner |date=April 24, 2023 |access-date=July 17, 2023}}</ref>

The Terminal 3 station closed on November 4, 2025 for the Terminal 3 West renovation; {{update after|2027|text=it is intended to reopen in 2027}}.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Harden |first=Olivia |date=2025-11-03 |title=Several sections of SFO to close Tuesday until 2027 |url=https://www.sfgate.com/article/21129963.php |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=[[SFGate]]}}</ref> During its closure, service to Terminal 3 is provided by the Terminal 2 station,<ref name=":1" /> which is temporarily renamed as the Terminals 2 & 3 station.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-06 |title=Terminal 3 Construction - Closures & Passenger Impacts |url=https://www.flysfo.com/flight-info/alerts-advisories/terminal-3-construction-closures-passenger-impacts |access-date=2026-03-21 |publisher=[[San Francisco International Airport]] |language=en}}</ref>

== Technical details == [[File:SFO AirTrain, automated people mover. Terminal 2 (28055235028).jpg|thumb|left|Interior of an AirTrain car]] The AirTrain system was built by [[Bombardier Transportation]] at a cost of [[United States dollar|US $]]430 million and is composed of 38 [[Bombardier Innovia APM 100|Innovia APM 100]] cars coupled in trains of up to three cars. The APM 100 cars can also be found at airports in [[Tampa International Airport People Movers|Tampa]], [[Automated Guideway Transit System (Denver International Airport)|Denver]], [[The Plane Train|Atlanta]], [[Satellite Transit System|Seattle-Tacoma]], [[Skyway (George Bush Intercontinental Airport)|Houston]], and [[Madrid Barajas International Airport#Airport People Mover|Madrid]]. They are operated automatically under Bombardier's [[Cityflo 650 CBTC|Cityflo 650]] [[Communications-based train control]] signaling technology, making it one of the first radio-based [[Signalling control|train control]] systems to enter service.<ref name="CBTC15">{{Cite press release |date=March 29, 2018 |title=Bombardier Marks 15th Anniversary of Its World-First Radio-Based, Driverless Rail Control System |publisher=Bombardier Transportation |agency=MarketWired |url=http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/bombardier-marks-15th-anniversary-its-world-first-radio-based-driverless-rail-control-tsx-bbd.a-2246505.htm |access-date=January 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122095005/http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/bombardier-marks-15th-anniversary-its-world-first-radio-based-driverless-rail-control-tsx-bbd.a-2246505.htm |archive-date=January 22, 2019}}</ref> The entire AirTrain fleet is [[accessible]] and allows [[Baggage cart|rented baggage carts]] on board.

The Airport Development Plan from 2016 forecasted that ridership on the two lines would be over capacity in the future (42% and 87% over capacity on the Red and Blue Lines respectively)<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://media.flysfo.com.s3.amazonaws.com/default/about/Chapter_5_Alternatives_Draft_Final.pdf |title=Alternatives Development and Evaluation |date=September 2016 |publisher=San Francisco International Airport |access-date=December 28, 2018 |work=Draft Final Airport Development Plan }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and recommended upgrades that would increase capacity. Specific upgrades included acquiring 30 additional AirTrain cars, upgrading existing stations to accommodate 4-car trains, and upgrading the maintenance facility to accommodate additional vehicles.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://media.flysfo.com.s3.amazonaws.com/default/about/Chapter_6_Recommended_ADP_Draft_Final.pdf |title=Recommended Airport Development Plan |date=September 2016 |publisher=San Francisco International Airport |access-date=December 28, 2018 |work=Draft Final Airport Development Plan }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{clear left}}

== See also == * [[Airport rail link]] * [[Oakland Airport Connector]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} {{Attached KML|display=title,inline}} * {{Official website|https://www.flysfo.com/passengers/ground-transportation/getting-around-sfo}}

[[Category:Airport people mover systems in the United States]] [[Category:San Francisco International Airport]] [[Category:Airport rail links in the United States|San Francisco]] [[Category:Innovia people movers]] [[Category:Public transportation in San Francisco]] [[Category:Railway lines opened in 2003]] [[Category:Rapid transit in California]] [[Category:2003 establishments in California]]