PHX Sky Train
| Company type | People mover system |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | April 8, 2013 |
| Headquarters | Phoenix , United States |
Area served | Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport |
| Products | People mover service |
| Owner | City of Phoenix Aviation Department |
| Parent | Alstom (management) |
| Website | www |
PHX Sky Train
The PHX Sky Train is an electrically powered people mover system operating within Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport located in Phoenix, Arizona. Its initial portion became operational on April 8, 2013, followed by extensions reaching Terminal 3 in December 2014 and the Rental Car Center in December 2022. Managed by Alstom and owned by the City of Phoenix Aviation Department, the service operates continuously around the clock without any fare, with trains arriving every 3 to 5 minutes.
This system replaced the airport’s shuttle buses, leading to the cessation of inter-terminal shuttle bus services in January 2015 and the discontinuation of Rental Car Center shuttles after the latest expansion. Stretching roughly 5 miles, the line includes six stations and employs a fleet of 42 Innovia APM 200 vehicles.
One prominent engineering achievement is an elevated bridge constructed over Taxiway R—the first-ever transit bridge globally to span an active taxiway—engineered to allow large aircraft such as Boeing 747s and Airbus A380s to pass underneath safely.
History
Phase 1 involved constructing a segment between December 2008 and April 2013, connecting Terminal 4, the East Economy Parking area, and the 44th Street/Washington station on Valley Metro Rail’s A Line. The guideway travels through a newly built underpass beneath the Union Pacific railroad tracks, skirts past the jet-fuel storage area, and follows along 44th Street. This phase was completed at an estimated $1.58 billion and opened on April 8, 2013.
Phase 1a extended service from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3, launching on December 8, 2014. A covered pedestrian walkway connected Terminal 3 with Terminal 2 until Terminal 2 ceased operations in February 2020.
Phase 2, which began operation on December 20, 2022, expanded the Sky Train westward from Terminal 3 to the Rental Car Center. Approved in October 2016 with an anticipated budget of $700 million, construction concluded by mid-2022 followed by testing before official opening. Entirely funded through fees collected from airline passengers and rental car customers, this extension passes underneath planned taxiways as well as Interstate 10.
Future
Phase 2 was designed with provisions for additional infill stations that would serve a potential "West Terminal" located on the West Economy Parking lots site and a new ground transportation center situated east of 24th Street. Both developments currently lack funding and are components of the airport’s long-term Comprehensive Asset Management Plan spanning two decades.
Passenger services
At the 44th Street station, domestic travelers could check their luggage for flights operated by American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines until November 2017. Checked baggage was transported securely in locked containers via dedicated shuttle trucks directly to Terminal 4’s internal baggage handling system.
The facilities at 44th Street include a passenger drop-off zone, a cell phone lot, bicycle racks, and lockers. It is serviced by Valley Metro Bus routes numbered 1, 32, and 44. Additionally, FlixBus boards passengers from the northern side of this Sky Train station.
Certain airlines offer kiosks at both the 44th Street/Washington and East Economy Parking stations where passengers can print boarding passes.
Ridership
Within three months following its launch, the PHX Sky Train was transporting approximately 70,000 passengers each week, surpassing the original projected figure of 48,000 by more than 40%. The highest demand is observed on Thursday and Friday mornings between 5 and 8 am, as well as during midday hours from noon to 3 pm. By March 2016, the daily average ridership had climbed to 15,940.
Significant cumulative ridership benchmarks include reaching 1 million passengers in 2013 and achieving 10 million by 2015.
Rolling stock
The system operates with a fleet of 18 Innovia APM 200 vehicles, commonly arranged into six trainsets of three cars each; during periods of lower demand, two-car configurations are utilized. Following the commencement of Phase 2, Bombardier is set to supply an additional 24 vehicles.
Trains are engineered to accommodate up to 3,300 passengers per hour in each direction and travel at an average speed of 23 mph, with peak speeds reaching 38 mph. This allows for a five-minute journey from 44th Street to Terminal 4 and an extra two minutes to reach Terminal 3.
This setup marks the third deployment of the Innovia APM 200 system, following installations at DFW Skylink and Heathrow Terminal 5 Transit.
Image gallery
Various perspectives showcasing the PHX Sky Train alongside the airport terminals.