SeaTac Airport's Satellite Transit System

Riding the Satellite Transit System, a rubber-tyred, automated, people-mover-type subway, running on three lines: the North Loop between Concourse C, the North Satellite, and the SeaTac Main Terminal North; the South Loop between Concourse B, the South Satellite, and Main Terminal South; and the Shuttle Train between Main Terminals North and South.

The system was originally built in 1969 with Westinghouse cars and equipment, and rebuilt starting in 1999 with Bombardier cars and new signals and other equipment, plus new signage, announcements, and public art. The result is the most extensive, second-oldest airport people-mover in the US, an efficient system for SeaTac Airport.

I'm riding the North Loop from the main terminal to the North Satellite and the N Gates, on my way to a flight to Chicago-O'Hare. Notice the bilingual English and Japanese announcements and signs- Concourse C serves airlines primarily to Japan. Also check out the sealed, platform-edge doors, and extremely efficient and helpful signage, all with the attractive graphics package of SeaTac Airport's wayfinding signs.

One advantage of the system's layout is the fact that two of the lines are loops with only three stops- if a person misses their stop, they can simply ride the train the rest of the way around the loop to the correct station.

I think that the current applications of small systems such as this are far too limited, and could be used in places such as suburbs where two shopping centres or office towers are too far apart to walk, but too difficult to drive between (reducing needless car trips), inside other airports, as shuttles between heavier metro-type transit lines, around college campuses (such as the people-mover already in use in West Virginia), and as small transit systems for small cities or rural towns.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• SeaTac
• Airport
• transit
• system
• satellite transit system
• people-mover
• automated
• subway
• Bombardier
• Seattle
• Tacoma
• train

[cosmic123100]

When I was a kid, (before 9/11), I used to come here all of the time just to ride this!!!

[retroguy1976]

looks like the one @ kennedy airport

[somebody03321]

@ ilovenbcnews : i rode it yesterday and they used a korean voice over

[ilovenbcnews]

i think they stopped using a japanese voice over on the train

[waielg]

been on this MANY MANY times!

[harleybadger1]

OOH! I rode that!!!