Platform Screen Doors

As part of the infrastructure to support the 2008 Olympic summer games, the Chinese government revamped Beijing’s transportation system, adding the new Terminal 3 (T3) to the Beijing Capital airport. The new terminal would be able to handle 60 percent of the airport’s total capacity. The new T3 took nearly four years to complete and now boasts a modern Automated People Mover system to help manage the volume of air passengers on this mega city of 15 million people.

The expanded Capital International is China’s first airport to have three terminals, two towers and three runways in operation simultaneously. It will also become the largest airport in Asia in land size and one of the world’s largest in capacity and land size. T3 itself is far larger than HKIA’s and Suvarnabhumi’s main passenger terminals, with a land area of approximately 986,000 square meters, it is also larger than London Heathrow Airports 5 terminals combined into one with another 17% to spare.

Horton Automatics Solution to Beijing

Horton Automatics is proud to have contributed to the completion of this impressive infrastructure. Horton designed, installed and commissioned the platform screen door system for this new modern APM. This APM system consists of 3 stations and 96 P-X-X-P doors that synchronize with the train system supplied by Bombardier Transportation. Horton is proud to be a part of the great changes coming to the city of Beijing and the country of China.

The Busan Subway, operated by the Busan Transportation Corporation, is the subway system of Busan, South Korea. The subway network first opened in 1985 with seventeen stations. Now, it consists of 4 lines, 102 operating stations, and 106.8 kilometres (66.4 mi) of tracks.

Horton Automatics Solution to Busan

For this heavy system, Horton provided 196 heavy duty operators and control systems that increased the comfort and safety of this system.

Guangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. The earliest project to build an underground rapid transit system in Guangzhou dates back to 1960 but it was not until 1993 that construction of the first line, Line 1, officially began. Line 1 opened four years later in 1997 with five stations in operation.

As of November 2010, Guangzhou Metro has eight lines in operation. A major portion of the metro system services the urban areas of the city, while Lines 2, 3 and 4 also reach into the suburban areas in Huadu, Baiyun District, Panyu and Nansha; Guangfo Line connects Guangzhou and Foshan and is the first intercity underground metro line in the country. Daily ridership averages 4.39 million. Having delivered 1.18 billion rides in 2010, Guangzhou Metro is the sixth busiest metro system in the world.

Guangzhou Metro operates 144 stations, including 14 interchange stations, and 236 km of tracks. Massive expansion of the metro network has been planned for the decade of 2011–2020. Two new lines, Line 6 and Line 9, and the extension of Guangfo Line are already under construction and expected to be completed before 2015. Total operational capacity is scheduled to exceed 600 km by 2020.

Horton Automatics Solution to Guangzhou

Part of the modernization of this system includes the progressive addition of Platform Screen Doors. For this project, Horton partnered with Panasonic Electric to develop the 132 drive and control systems for Zhujiang New Town APM. The system was designed to drive locally-made Stainless Steel formed doors and to provide communication and feedback to station control regarding the status of each platform screen door. For this system, Horton developed the new GZ control to accommodate the specifics of the Panasonic specification. The platform screen door systems started operation in February 2010.

Incheon is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. From 2006 to 2010, it was rated the best airport in the world by the Airports Council International The airport has a golf course, spa, private sleeping rooms, ice skating rink, a casino, indoor gardens and a Museum of Korean Culture.

Located 70 km (43 mi) west of Seoul, the Incheon International Airport serves as a hub for international civilian air transportation and cargo traffic in East Asia. Incheon International Airport is also currently Asia's eighth busiest airport in terms of passengers, the world's fourth busiest airport for cargo traffic, and the world's eighth busiest airport in terms of international passengers in 2010.

The airport opened for business in early 2001, replacing the older Gimpo International Airport, which now serves mostly domestic destinations plus shuttle flights to Beijing, Osaka-Kansai, Shanghai-Hongqiao, Tokyo-Haneda, and limited service to Nagoya and Tsushima.

Horton Automatics Solution to Incehon

The Incheon International APM system is a fully underground system that connects the existing passenger terminal to Concourse A.  As part of Phase 2 of the airport facilities expansion, this dual shuttle APM system connects Terminal 1 and Concourse A.  Horton Automatics supplied 96 P-X-X-P Platform Screen Doors for this system, which started operations in 2007.

When the Queen of England officially opened Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5, she described it as “a 21st Century gate way to Britain” to the hundreds of dignitaries and airport and construction workers attending the opening ceremony. The £4.3 billion terminal began operation on March 27, 2008 albeit to a rocky start. Designed to streamline traveler checking-in, the baggage handling system did not perform and mishaps occurred. While this was a major PR fiasco for BAA, in a project of this magnitude, it was within the realm of possibility that one major system misfired on day one.

Some 60,000 people have worked a total of 100 million man hours to build Terminal 5 since construction began in September 2002. The project involved diverting two rivers. Building what is claimed to be the UK’s largest free-standing building and tunneling 9 miles for rail and baggage links.

Horton-USA furnished and Horton-UK installed the Platform Screen Doors (PSD) for the new Heathrow Automated People Mover System. The PSDs, along with the Bombardier Train system, had been tested for months by the opening day. It is not surprising that the Horton system performed flawlessly and greatly helped alleviate traveler mishaps.

The PSD system consists of 64 P-X-X-P clear anodize packages with unique flush glazed designed panels developed specifically for the T5 project and became Horton’s 45th system installed worldwide, which include the airports of major cities like Frankfurt, Beijing, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Madrid, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City and Toronto.

The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International APM is the busiest and one of the most complex systems of its kind in the world. The 49-vehicle fleet operates over 20 hours each day, seven days a week and moves over 200,000 passengers daily between the landside terminal and six airside concourses, with less than two-minute wait times between trains.
The System operates in an underground spine, which connects the main terminal and the separate concourses. Even with high-volume traffic and critical operation schedules, the system consistently surpasses the 99.5 percent contract availability target.

Slightly more than 85% of all passengers choose to ride the APM trains consisting of four vehicles, each designed to accommodate approximately 75 people with carry-on luggage, strollers, or those requiring wheelchairs. System capacity is currently rated at 8,510 passengers per direction, per hour. The APM is fully automated, with six LED signs per vehicle displaying information in eight languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Korean).

Horton Automatics Solution to the new Concourse F

In spring 2012, Hartsfield-Jackson will be opening the seventh airside concourse. Concourse F will make Atlanta's airport even more unique with its own separate terminal for international passengers with the ability to check in and depart from this concourse and also ride trains to the other concourses. Horton supplied 16 P-X-X-P highly custom-designed stainless steel platform screen doors for the expansion between concourse E and F.

Skylink is an automated people mover system in operation at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). It is an application of the Bombardier Innovia APM 200 system manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, and is the world's largest airport train system. Sixty-four Skylink trains are in service at DFW.

The system was opened in spring 2005 and is completely automated. Skylink trains run every two minutes and travel at speeds up to 35–37 mph (56–60 km/h). The Skylink system is airside at DFW, serving passengers connecting between flights. There is no need to leave security and be re-screened when switching terminals. The system is only accessible airside and cannot be accessed by those not arriving at DFW or who have not cleared security. Arriving International passengers (who are not pre-cleared; e.g. Canada) who are connecting clear US CBP formalities and are then security screened before access to the terminals. Departing international passengers connecting from domestic or pre-cleared international flights do not need to be re-screened.

The longest trip between farthest stations is 9 minutes with an average 5 minute journey. This allows most passengers to make a connection from any one flight to another in around seven minutes, not including walking time to and from the stations.

The concrete and steel guideway for Skylink was constructed above the terminals on 375 columns in a 4.8 mile long bi-directional loop. The inner track travels clockwise and the outer track travels counter-clockwise. Each of the five current terminals contains 2 stations which are accessed on the secure (air) side. The stations contain four sets of Horton Automatics Platform Screen Doors on each platform, with only the front 2 currently in operation pending future increased demand. Two more stations can be constructed for a sixth terminal if it is built.

This APM technology is also used at London Heathrow International Airport's T5 terminal. Horton Automatics also furnished the platform Screen Door system for London Heathrow and Gatwick as well as for the Birmingham airport in the U.K.

TerminaLink is a people mover system operating at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The system is 0.7 miles (1.1 km) long, and runs along the north side of the airport, beyond airport security. The system serves all of the airport's five terminals, with four stations at Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminal C, and International Terminal D/E, respectively.

The TerminaLink system opened on May 24, 1999 as a 0.1 mile (0.2 km) line with two stations, connecting Terminal C and Terminal B with a maintenance building for the rail vehicles between the two terminals. In 2001, the system was expanded 0.6 mile (0.9 km) from Terminal C to Terminal D. The airport has expanded the line to Terminal A at a cost of US $100 million, and construction began in early 2008 and was completed in 2010.

Horton proudly furnished the platform screen doors for the Houston system.

The MIA Mover is a light-rail automated people mover system operating between MIA and the two major structures of the MIC, the Rental Car Center and the Miami Central Station. The MIA Mover was built and is being operated by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD). The Florida Department of Transportation was responsible for its guideway foundations and construction of its station at the MIC. The MIC Station was completed in January 2011, and the MIA Mover became operational on September 9, 2011.

The MIA Mover system has two stations. The MIA Station is located on the third level between the Flamingo and Dolphin Parking Garages at the airport; it connects with the airport's third-level moving walkways. The MIC Station is located at the fourth level of the Rental Car Center between the Customer Service Lobby and the MCS, via an elevated pedestrian walkway. Its dual elevated guideways span 1.25 miles, allowing trains to travel in both directions.

Horton Automatics Solution to MIA Mover

For this system, Horton automatics provided 48 type P-X-X-P platform screen doors and barrier walls. The MiaMover became the second Platform screen door project for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

The service currently uses two trains of six cars each, built by DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH. They use a drive and tension system. Each train has capacity for 150 passengers with baggage or 2,180 passengers per hour per direction The 4,751 ft (1,473 m) elevated system has a travel time of three minutes one way. If ridership increases beyond the present capabilities of the system, additional capacity could be added in several ways: the stations have been built to accommodate seven-car trains, which would increase capacity to 175 passengers per train (2,500 a second station could be built in Terminal 1, and the system could be converted from the current cable technology to self-propelled technology.

Horton Automatics Solution for Toronto

For this APM system, Horton provided a highly-customized stainless steel platform screen door system consisting of 36 type SO-X-X-SO doors. Horton also supplied, installed and commissioned a similar platform screen door system for the Mexico City International Airport APM.

AeroTrain is a 3.78-mile (6.08 km) people mover system at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia. It started operations on January 26, 2010. The system mostly replaced the mobile lounges that transport passengers from the concourses to the Main Terminal. The system utilizes 29 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover vehicles.

The Aerotrain runs 4 three-car trains from 5:00 AM to around 3:00 PM from which seven three-car trains run from 3:00 PM until 11:00 PM. From midnight to 5 AM there are usually two three-car trains but sometimes only one three-car train. There are supposed to be no more than two minutes between trains, and trains transport passengers to the concourses in about two minutes, at 40–42 miles per hour (The mobile lounges travel about fifteen miles per hour).

Horton Automatics Solution to Dulles

For this system, Horton provided 112 type SO-X-X-SO highly-customized stainless steel clad doors.

The Mexico City International Airport (AICM) is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City. It is Mexico’s largest and busiest airport offering direct flights to more than 100 destinations worldwide. In 2007, the airport served 25.9 million passengers. In 2006 Mexico embarked upon a major $1 billion program to upgrade its civil aviation infrastructure. The construction of the new Terminal 2 at Mexico City Airport and associated projects alone totaled $600 million, and increased AICM’s capacity to 32 million passengers a year.

The construction of Terminal 2 means the introduction of a new kind of service in the country. Terminal 1 and 2 are connected by a cable-driven Automated People Mover (APM) system (Aerotren). Austria’s Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH & Co (DCC) furnished the APM, a 1.9-mile elevated shuttle train that travels at 30 mph and consists of four cabins with a capacity of 100 passengers per journey. The APM was ready for operation in April of 2007.

Horton Automatics was selected as the supplier of the Platform Screen Doors (PSD) for this impressive elevated system. The system consist of two modern stations and features a Horton stainless steel clad SO-X-X-SO system that has worked flawlessly since it’s commissioning in March 2007.

The APM installation was completed in 19 months and the PSD installation took 8 weeks. This was made possible due to the sophisticated modular design of the APM system and the project coordination among the different trades.

This project illustrates how Horton can help architects achieve their goals in bringing comfort and beauty to public spaces while meeting stringent safety and operational requirements.