Source: Alstom
Alstom, global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, has signed a contract with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to provide operations and maintenance services for the automated people mover (APM) system for the next 10 years, until January 2032. The contract is valued at just over €200 million.
Under this contract, Alstom’s scope of work includes ongoing preventive and corrective maintenance of the system’s 64 Innovia APM 200 vehicles, subsystems and related components, which consists of switches, power distribution, station doors, public address announcements and station signage. Alstom will also be responsible for the maintenance of the eight-kilometre elevated dual-lane guideway, which includes the running surface, guide beam, 3rd rail power and the related switches, the power distribution, guideway heating systems, and the Automatic Train Control equipment.
Alstom and DFW have been working together since 2000 providing the eight-kilometre elevated dual-lane guideway APM system. Known as Skylink, the 32 train APM system (64 cars) offers convenient passenger travel in either direction on comfortable, climate controlled Innovia APM vehicles, connecting all five terminals – A, B, C, D and E. Alstom has provided maintenance support for the SkyLink system since it opened on May 21, 2005. Since its opening, the DFW system has achieved outstanding results in availability, exceeding 99% each year, carrying more than 20 million passengers annually, pre-pandemic.
“DFW is the most connected airport in the world, and Skylink helps our customers navigate easily between terminals,” says Sean Donohue, Chief Executive Officer of DFW Airport. “Ensuring Skylink is properly maintained and operational is essential to the customer experience.”
Talking about the contract award, Michael Keroullé, President, Alstom Americas, says: “We are incredibly pleased and proud to extend our partnership with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The customer’s renewed trust in Alstom proves our operations and maintenance expertise in helping customers provide efficient, reliable, and safe service for their end users.”
The driverless Innovia APM is a transportation system specially designed to serve airports and dense urban areas. It offers quick, comfortable, and convenient service for commuters within cities, to and from airports, or between airport terminals. Innovia APM cars operate on a dedicated guideway underground, on ground level, or elevated. This ensures a consistent service that does not interfere with surrounding road or runway traffic. Built on 50 years of successful and dependable operation, Innovia APM systems incorporate modern aesthetics and advanced subsystems for optimised functionality. Over 30 of Alstom’s APM systems have been delivered around the world; Alstom is the maintainer or operator at 18 of the world’s busiest airports.