Jetrail
Encyclopedia
Jetrail was a suspended monorail
system that operated at Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas
, from 1969 to 1974. It was built for and operated by Braniff International Airways
to transport passengers and their luggage from remote parking lots to the airport terminal. Jetrail was the world's first fully automated monorail transit system. The system ceased operations when Braniff moved to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1974. The city of Waco, Texas
, considered using the system for an urban project but the idea was later abandoned. A hotel in Memphis, Tennessee
, also considered buying the system, but the system was not long enough. The Jetrail terminal was later turned into a multilevel discotheque and the system was dismantled in 1978.
The system consisted of a single closed loop 8400 feet (2,560.3 m) in length and elevated 25 feet (7.6 m) above ground with six switches. Bypass tracks were located at each end of the loop for vehicle storage and maintenance. Stations were located at the end of each loop: one in the parking lot and the other near the concourse gates. A third station was located on the line to the parking lot beside the baggage claim area. The total travel time averaged 3.5 minutes—much faster than buses and cars it replaced.
Forty-seven percent of Braniff's passengers used the system, with ridership of 2.5 million passengers in the last year of service. Over the life of the system, Jetrail moved over 10,000,000 passengers. The system logged an impressive 500,000 vehicle-miles per year and operated with a 99.9% reliability.
Jetrail was automatically controlled with elevator type buttons and demonstrated that a very lightweight guideway could be built and would adequately support the vehicles. Originally powered by rotary induction motors, the system was later adapted to linear induction motor
propulsion.
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
system that operated at Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, from 1969 to 1974. It was built for and operated by Braniff International Airways
Braniff International Airways
Braniff International Airways was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982, primarily in the midwestern and southwestern U.S., South America, Panama, and in its later years also Asia and Europe...
to transport passengers and their luggage from remote parking lots to the airport terminal. Jetrail was the world's first fully automated monorail transit system. The system ceased operations when Braniff moved to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1974. The city of Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, considered using the system for an urban project but the idea was later abandoned. A hotel in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, also considered buying the system, but the system was not long enough. The Jetrail terminal was later turned into a multilevel discotheque and the system was dismantled in 1978.
System and operations
Jetrail was invented and designed by George Adams, president of Mobility Systems Control, Inc. of Los Angeles. Braniff International Airways wanted an inexpensive automated system to carry people from a remote parking lot 4200 feet (1,280.2 m) to Braniff's new "Terminal of the Future." The $2 million system consisted of ten 12 feet (3.7 m) orange vehicles each with a capacity of 10 passengers (6 seated and 4 standing) plus hand baggage. Two separate all-baggage cars were also used, allowing passengers to check luggage before boarding the vehicle.The system consisted of a single closed loop 8400 feet (2,560.3 m) in length and elevated 25 feet (7.6 m) above ground with six switches. Bypass tracks were located at each end of the loop for vehicle storage and maintenance. Stations were located at the end of each loop: one in the parking lot and the other near the concourse gates. A third station was located on the line to the parking lot beside the baggage claim area. The total travel time averaged 3.5 minutes—much faster than buses and cars it replaced.
Forty-seven percent of Braniff's passengers used the system, with ridership of 2.5 million passengers in the last year of service. Over the life of the system, Jetrail moved over 10,000,000 passengers. The system logged an impressive 500,000 vehicle-miles per year and operated with a 99.9% reliability.
Jetrail was automatically controlled with elevator type buttons and demonstrated that a very lightweight guideway could be built and would adequately support the vehicles. Originally powered by rotary induction motors, the system was later adapted to linear induction motor
Linear induction motor
A linear induction motor is an AC asynchronous linear motor that works by the same general principles as other induction motors but which has been designed to directly produce motion in a straight line....
propulsion.