Episode 673
AirTrain JFK
Sat, 2019-Mar-09 01:15 UTC
Length - 2:49
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Saturday, 9 March 2019 is AirTrain JFK.
AirTrain JFK is an 8.1-mile-long (13 km) elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The system operates 24/7 and consists of three lines and ten stations. It connects the airport's six terminals with the New York City Subway in Howard Beach, Queens, and with the Long Island Rail Road and subway in Jamaica, Queens. Bombardier Transportation operates AirTrain JFK under contract to the airport's owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
A railroad link to JFK Airport was first recommended in 1968. Various plans surfaced to build a JFK Airport rail connection until the 1990s, though these were not carried out because of a lack of funding. The JFK Express subway service and shuttle buses provided an unpopular transport system to and around JFK. In-depth planning for a dedicated transport system at JFK began in 1990, but was ultimately cut back from a direct rail link to an intra-borough people mover. Construction of the current people-mover system began in 1998. During construction, AirTrain JFK was the subject of several lawsuits, and an operator died during one of the system's test runs. The system opened on December 17, 2003, after multiple delays. Since then, several improvements have been proposed for AirTrain JFK, including an extension to Manhattan.
All passengers entering or exiting at either Jamaica or Howard Beach pay a $5 fare, while people traveling within the airport can ride for free. The system was originally projected to carry 4 million annual paying passengers and 8.4 million annual inter-terminal passengers every year. The AirTrain has consistently exceeded these projections since opening. In 2017 the system had 7.7 million paying passengers and 12.6 million inter-terminal passengers.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:15 UTC on Saturday, 9 March 2019.
For the full current version of the article, see AirTrain JFK on Wikipedia.
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This has been Amy. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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