Dulles Updates Its People Movers

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Preview the AeroTrain

Dulles International Airport officials showed off a new fleet of rail cars Monday that will eventually replace the airport's fleet of 1960s-era "mobile lounges" in transporting passengers to gates.

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The AeroTrain is just one link in a system that airport officials say will get passengers onto airplanes more quickly and with less hassle.

Instead of the current two-level terminal, with ticketing and security on top and arrivals on the lower level, the expansion plan will add an underground 121,700-square-foot security screening area, with the 54,500-square-foot AeroTrain terminal below that.

Meanwhile, by moving the security lines out of the main Eero Saarinen-designed terminal, the landmark will regain the airiness and dignity of the original design, officials said. The expansion project is expected to be completed in 2011.

Bennett said the airline industry's financial problems have affected the project's planning and implementation. The airport relies on landing and takeoff fees from the airlines. He said that if the airlines were in better financial shape, planning would already be underway for a permanent replacement for the temporary quarters that hold the C and D concourses.

The AeroTrain station that serves the C gates is being built on the site of the proposed permanent concourse, forcing travelers to use a temporary underground 500-foot walkway back to the C gates.

In 2007, 25 million passengers used Dulles, including 6 million international passengers. Bennett said growth in international flights will become an increasingly important part of the airport's business. Dulles serves 42 international destinations through 23 airlines.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, which had 21 million passengers in 2007, wrapped up a $1.8 billion expansion in 2006.