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'AirTrain JFK' is an 8.1-mile (13-km) people mover system in New York City that connects John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to the city's subway and commuter trains. It is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which also operates the airport and AirTrain Newark.

Contents

Routes and stations

Station guide

Using AirTrain

Additional connecting transit services

Wheelchair accessibility

History

Ridership

See also

External links

References

Routes and stations

AirTrain connects the airport terminals and parking areas with Long Island Rail Road and New York City Subway lines at Jamaica and Howard Beach stations in Queens. The system consists of three overlapping routes:

★ Howard Beach Route

★ Jamaica Station Route

★ All Terminals Loop
The 'Howard Beach' route ends at the Howard Beach-JFK subway station served by the IND Rockaway Line (). It stops at Lefferts Boulevard for shuttle buses to long term parking lots A and B and to airport employee parking.
The 'Jamaica Station' route ends at Jamaica Station on the Long Island Rail Road, adjacent to the Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue-JFK subway station served by the Archer Avenue Line (). Jamaica Station and the two-level subway station are connected by a central elevator bank, allowing passengers to transfer conveniently between them.
Before separating for their final destinations, both routes stop at Federal Circle for car rental companies and shuttle buses to hotels and the airport's air cargo area. Both routes make a counterclockwise loop through the airport and stop at each terminal.
The 'All Terminals' loop is an airport terminal circulator, which serves the six terminal stations (Terminal 1, Terminals 2 / 3, Terminal 4, Terminals 5 / 6, Terminal 7, and Terminals 8 / 9), but operates in the opposite direction, making a clockwise loop.

Station guide

Station	Lines	Connections
'A' Howard Beach	★ Howard Beach Route	★ Long-term parking area C ★ New York City Subway ('' train at Howard Beach–JFK Airport station) ★ MTA Bus Q11
'B' Lefferts Blvd.	★ Howard Beach Route	★ NYCTA Bus B15 ★ Passenger pick-up ★ Long-term parking areas A and B
'C' Federal Circle	★ Howard Beach Route ★ Jamaica Station Route	★ Rental cars ★ Hotel shuttles ★ Cargo area
'D' Jamaica Station	★ Jamaica Station Route	★ New York City Subway ('' and ''/'' trains at Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK station) ★ Long Island Rail Road (at Jamaica LIRR station) ★ NYCTA Bus & MTA Bus Q6, Q8, Q9, Q20A, Q20B, Q24, Q30, Q31, Q34, Q40, Q41, Q43, Q44, Q60, and Q65
'1'	★ All Terminals Loop ★ Howard Beach Route ★ Jamaica Station Route	★ Terminal 1 ★ 'Green' parking
'2 / 3'	★ All Terminals Loop ★ Howard Beach Route ★ Jamaica Station Route	★ Terminal 2 ★ Terminal 3 ★ 'Green' parking
'4'	★ All Terminals Loop ★ Howard Beach Route ★ Jamaica Station Route	★ Terminal 4 ★ 'Blue' parking ★ NYCTA Bus & MTA Buses Q3, Q10, and B15
'5 / 6'	★ All Terminals Loop ★ Howard Beach Route ★ Jamaica Station Route	★ Terminal 5 ★ Terminal 6 ★ 'Yellow' parking
'7'	★ All Terminals Loop ★ Howard Beach Route ★ Jamaica Station Route	★ Terminal 7 ★ 'Orange' parking
'8 / 9'	★ All Terminals Loop ★ Howard Beach Route ★ Jamaica Station Route	★ Terminal 8 ★ Terminal 9 ★ 'Red' parking

Using AirTrain

AirTrain is free within the terminal area and to the hotel and car rental shuttle buses at Federal Circle. When entering or leaving AirTrain at the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations the cost is $5.
The fare must be paid by MetroCard, which can be purchased with cash, a credit card or an ATM card. There are vending machines at Jamaica and Howard Beach stations where one can pay for the AirTrain and also pay subway and Long Island Rail Road fares. Discounts are available such as a $25 AirTrain-only MetroCard good for 10 trips, and a monthly $40 AirTrain-only MetroCard good for an unlimited number of rides.
There are flight status displays in many AirTrain stations, including Jamaica and Howard Beach. All station stops are announced via recorded messages.
The fastest trip time to Manhattan is via the Long Island Rail Road at the Jamaica AirTrain connection. From Jamaica to Penn Station in midtown Manhattan on the Long Island Rail Road takes 20 minutes. Taking the subway can double the travel time, but is less expensive and services the east side of Manhattan.
Travelers to Long Island or Brooklyn can use the Long Island Rail Road from Jamaica; subway trains from both Howard Beach and Jamaica also serve Brooklyn. Dozens of local bus lines serving Queens and Brooklyn stop at or near Jamaica as well.

Additional connecting transit services

The Long Island Rail Road serves Penn Station in midtown Manhattan, where connections to New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains are available. The completion of East Side Access, expected in 2012, will offer AirTrain passengers connecting to the LIRR a direct route to Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan.

Wheelchair accessibility

All AirTrain JFK stations are fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and are, therefore, wheelchair accessible, as well as having other features designed to assist passengers who have a visual or hearing impairment. The Howard Beach subway and Jamaica Long Island Rail Road stations it connects with are also ADA-compliant. See New York City Subway accessibility and Long Island Rail Road accessibility for connection information.

History

Planners have long desired a rail connection to JFK airport, which suffers from traffic congestion on its access roads. However, efforts to build a system was slow and the final system deviated from the original plan.
The line was to begin in midtown Manhattan, at the foot of the Queensboro Bridge. The Airtrain would cross the East River using the side roads on the lower level of the bridge. It would use the Sunnyside Yards as a right-of-way towards LaGuardia Airport. From this airport, the Airtrain would follow the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway south towards Jamaica, with a station connecting to the IRT Flushing Line. Ultimately, only the portions linking Jamaica and Howard Beach to the JFK Airport were approved and built.
The connection to La Guardia was never implemented, leaving that airport the only one of the Port Authority's commercial airports, serving scheduled airlines, which lacks rail service (the Port Authority also operates Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, which serves general aviation and charter flights).
Construction of the AirTrain system began in 1998 for completion in 2002, but was delayed by the derailment of a test train on September 27, 2002, killing 23-year-old operator Kelvin DeBourgh, Jr. ^[1] The system finally opened after over a year's delay on December 17, 2003.
The $1.9 billion AirTrain has become a success that defied critics who feared the project could become a boondoggle because of some southeastern Queens residents' vocal complaints, the death of a worker during a test run, early problems with the doors and delays leading up to its December 2003 launch. The Port Authority responded to residents' concerns by imposing strict rules regarding disruptive or loud construction activity, such as pile driving, and by implementing a streamlined damage claim process which quickly compensated homeowners who suffered damage to their homes, such as foundation cracks, as a result of construction.
The AirTrain project was financed using federal Passenger Facility Charge revenue (collected as a $3 fee on each outbound flight ticket), which can only be used for airport-related improvements. The use of this funding required FAA approval. Several airlines challenged the use of the PFC funds for this project, and hired a consultant to organize opposition to the project. They also appealed the funding decision in court, along with a small number of residents of Ozone Park. The airlines subsequently withdrew from the lawsuit following negotiations with the Port Authority; the residents continued the legal battle but lost in court. The Port Authority also contributed $100 million toward the renovation of Jamaica Station, with the the State of New York paying for the rest of the $387 million project. The purpose of this renovation was, in part, to facilitate AirTrain connections. The state also spent $75 million to renovate the Howard Beach station, which brought it into ADA compliance and facilitated passengers transfers to and from AirTrain. AirTrain JFK, which is operated by Bombardier as a contractor to the Port Authority, does not receive subsidies from the state or city for its operating costs, which is one of the reasons cited for its relatively high fare.
AirTrain JFK uses the same Advanced Rapid Transit (formerly Intermediate Capacity Transit System) technology from Bombardier as the SkyTrain in Vancouver, Canada and the Putra LRT in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It draws power from a third rail, and a linear induction motor pushes magnetically against an aluminum strip in the center of the track. The computerized trains are automated and operate without conductors or motormen.
The proposed Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project would use the Long Island Rail Road Atlantic Branch to downtown Brooklyn and a new tunnel to lower Manhattan. This would provide faster service to JFK via a one-seat ride, as well as Long Island Rail Road service to lower Manhattan via a transfer at Jamaica. Under this proposal baggage could be checked in Manhattan and transferred directly to planes at the airport. Trains with hybrid propulsion systems that can run on the AirTrain, subway and Long Island Rail Road tracks might be required. The proposal may gain some momentum with the passing of the Transportation Bond Act in 2005.
The East Side Access project, now under construction and projected to open in 2013, will provide direct service between Jamaica station and Grand Central Terminal, with connections to Metro-North Commuter Railroad.
The recorded announcements on AirTrain JFK are by former New York City traffic reporter, Bernie Wagenblast.

Ridership

Annual AirTrain ridership:^[2]


Average daily ridership since opening

Total: 8,584

Jamaica: 4,952

Howard Beach: 3,632

June 2006, daily average ridership

Total: 11,384

Jamaica: 7,131

Howard Beach: 4,254

Yearly arrivals and departures at JFK

2003 . . . 31.7 million

2004 . . . 37.5 million

2005 . . . 40.9 million

2006 . . . 41 million (expected)


About 11% of all travelers arriving at or departing from JFK use AirTrain, according to the Port Authority, which operates AirTrain and JFK.
Daily paid ridership on the system has been steadily rising. Ridership increased from 7,700 per day in June 2004 to nearly 11,300 per day in June 2006.
Meanwhile, nearly four times as many people are taking AirTrain for free each day to travel between the airport's eight active terminals and parking lots.
The growing popularity of AirTrain also reflects a passenger boom at JFK airport. The number of people passing through the airport jumped from 31.7 million in 2003 to an estimated 41 million in 2006.[2]
Roughly 4 million people rode the train to JFK in 2006, an increase of about 15% over 2005.[3]

See also

★ Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project - Proposal to run the AirTrain over the LIRR Atlantic Branch in a new direct JFK connection to Lower Manhattan

★ List of rapid transit systems

★ List of airport circulators

★ AirTrain Newark

★ JFK Express

★ Train-to-the-plane

★ Transportation to New York City area airports with additional information on travel connections.

External links

★ Port Authority's official AirTrain JFK web pages

★ Lower Manhattan-Jamaica-JFK Transportation Project website

★ JFK Airtrain: Good News, Bad News, Good News and Bad News: A Usenet poster's review of using AirTrain, the Subway and the LIRR on Google Groups

★ Recordings of AirTrain's announcements

★ New York News Network - Port Authority Announces AirTrain Extension to Lower Manhattan

★ Opening Day Coverage (includes 'test' to see if AirTrain is faster than a taxi)

References

1. Following AirTrain Accident, A Community Mourns Shams Tarek
2. "Ridership growing for JFK AirTrain" ''AM New York'' July 26, 2006.[1]


★ M.T.A. Proposes Rail Line to Link Major Airports, New York Times March 18, 1990 page 28