USA: The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has selected a joint venture of Tutor Perini and O&G for a $1·2bn contract to design and build a 4 km peoplemover with three stations to replace the existing AirTrain Newark monorail serving the New Jersey airport.
The peoplemover will operate on a newly built guideway and serve three stations at Newark Liberty airport, one of two major international air hubs serving the New York-New Jersey conurbation.
The current AirTrain connects hotels, car parks and the air terminals with Newark Airport station on the Northeast Corridor main line, which is served by NJ Transit and Amtrak trains.
In December 2023, the authority agreed a contract with Doppelmayr for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the vehicles and control system. Earlier this year, engineering firm Stantec was selected to design the maintenance and control facility and the pedestrian access walkways, and to decommission the existing monorail.
Construction is expected to begin on the automated shuttle in 2025, with passenger service expected to start in 2030.
The existing AirTrain Newark monorail opened for service in 1996, but PANYNJ said it had become outdated and unable to accommodate growing air travel demand at the airport, where a new Terminal A opened in 2023 to replace the previous 50-year-old facility.
‘Today’s action by the board marks the next chapter in the effort to completely transform Newark Liberty International Airport into a world-class gateway worthy of our region’, said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole on November 14. ‘As we work on a modern new airport in Newark that will include new or expanded airport facilities, a reliable on-airport mass transit system will ensure that passengers and airport workers can get to where they need to go on a new state-of-the-art AirTrain system.’
- PANYNJ says that redevelopment of Newark Airport rail station can deliver enhanced access to public transport for residents of western Newark and Elizabeth. The work means that a proposed extension of the PATH trans-Hudson metro network beyond its current western terminus at Newark Penn station has can be deferred to a future capital investment period.
