The first of Denver International Airport’s new, upgraded train cars pulled into the station Tuesday afternoon, more than two years behind schedule.
Built by international train manufacturer Alstom, this car is one of 26 expected to arrive in Denver throughout next year, both to replace half airport’s current fleet and to add 10 cars to the roster, according to a Tuesday news release from DIA.
“Passenger traffic at DEN is expected to reach more than 78 million by the end of this year alone, and 100 million annual passengers are expected within the next three to five years,” DIA’s CEO Phil Washington stated in Tuesday’s release. “We are preparing for the future in a variety of ways, including renovating the Great Hall, adding gates to concourses, and adding capacity to the train to the gates.”
Delivery of the 26 new train cars was originally scheduled to begin in early 2021, but was pushed back several times due to global supply-chain issues.
The new train cars will increase the number of passengers that can travel to their gates by about 850 per hour, Washington said in the release. This change doesn’t come from a big increase in size, but from reducing the time between arriving trains and creating a more efficient operating schedule.
According to Tuesday’s news release, this is the first vehicle of its type delivered in North America — the aluminum car bodies are assembled using recyclable materials and use 30% less energy to run.
The new train cars aren’t ready to hit the tracks quite yet, since they still need to be tested by staff, but passengers will see them in service starting next summer, the airport stated in the release.
There are currently 31 train cars in the airport’s fleet, sixteen of which are 29 years old and have traveled more than 1.4 million miles, according to Tuesday’s release.
By replacing some of the oldest cars and expanding the fleet to 41 vehicles, the airport will be able to operate up to eight four-car trains, expanding capacity by 13% at the busiest times.
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