News

First PHX Sky Train™ Arrives!

September 2011

PHOENIX - Back in the mid 1980s, Lea+Elliott participated in a preliminary planning study for a transit system that would provide a connection for passengers throughout Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). Now, over 25 years later, this vision is becoming a reality. The first PHX Sky Train^TM car was unveiled on Aug. 16, 2011. This event marks a major milestone for a project that began as a few lines on paper more than two decades ago.

The first phase of the PHX Sky Train^TM will open in 2013 and will move passengers between the regional light rail system, the Airport's East Economy Parking and Terminal 4. Stage 1A will expand the PHX Sky Train^TM to serve all terminals. The final stage of the PHX Sky Train^TM system is planned to open in 2020 and will extend to the Sky Harbor Rental Car Center.

In 2012, Bombardier (the operating system contractor) will begin testing the PHX Sky Train^TM system. Visitors to the Airport will begin to see trains traveling along the guideway. Shipment of the first 18 cars began in August. The cars will be assembled into two- and three-car trains, and the system will run on an electrically powered, dedicated guideway.

Upon completion of the entire system, the PHX Sky Train^TM system will be approximately five miles long and have six passenger stations. The system will serve a total daily ridership of 96,000 passengers and will operate 24 hours a day with peak headways of less than three minutes.

Lea+Elliott is contracted with the City of Phoenix as the system designer. Lea+Elliott's responsibilities have included planning, system definition, leading the procurement effort, drafting the system specifications contract, negotiations, construction oversight, manufacturing oversight, and testing and commissioning the system. Lea+Elliott has been an integral part of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport's capital program planning since 1999.