Comments on: Dulles Airport Replaces Distinctive Mobile Lounge System with AeroTrain

By: Russell Warshay

Russell Warshay — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:18:42 +0000

If gas was $4/gallon, my guess is that there would be much more public support for funding HSR.

By: Reza

Reza — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:33:26 +0000

It’d be sweet if the Metro linked up to the underground security mezzanine so that if you didn’t have any bags to check-in you could just stroll from train to train without having to venture up to the Departure level.

By: JackRussell

JackRussell — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:36:19 +0000

The people mover cannot connect to Metro. The people mover is behind security.

By: Ocean Railroader

Ocean Railroader — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:43:27 +0000

That place sounds like it’s going to be it’s own city if they do expland it to a ten mile system built only for the air port. I wounder though is the Washingtion Metro going to dig out it’s own station there or are they going to have the new metro line show up by the new people mover.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:18:02 +0000

These mobile lounges were extremely expensive to operate. We analyzed an airport project for Atlanta and I think the operating cost for each of these vehicles is $1-$1.5M per year.

By: NikolasM

NikolasM — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:25:02 +0000

That is why HSR is so important to get in before it is too late. Trying to construct it at $4++ gas would be painful.

I still think that a new C/D terminal will be built at Dulles. The A/B is so much nicer and a good amount of the flights to it are longer distance than HSR is ready for. I read on GGW some speculation that by the 2020 timeframe the new terminal will be ready. Who knows.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:34:44 +0000

No, you are not the only one. Other people probably think the same thing, but are too scared to say anything…don’t rock the boat.

By: JackRussell

JackRussell — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:17:37 +0000

Am I the only one who wonders if because of Peak Oil, that the airlines with gradually wither away? And at the end we will be left with stranded infrastructure that no longer has a purpose left to serve.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:25:13 +0000

Makes me think of the system in Atlanta, which I’ve always thought is well-implemented. Starts right after security, goes to all 5 terminals, stopping right in the middle of each terminal. So you have to walk within each terminal, but that’s what your feet are for. The layout of ATL also lends itself to such an arrangement, with the 5 equidistant terminals (mostly) parallel to one another, meaning that no curves were involved.

They took the rails off of that train a few years ago, converting it to rubber tires now. Much more bumpy, of course.