New shuttles are rolling at TPA’s Airsides A and C
The thoroughly modern cars are the third generation of Airside shuttles at Tampa International Airport, replacing vehicles dating to the 1990s.
Tampa International Airport travelers headed to or from Airsides A and C will see that both the Red and Blue automated shuttles are back on track.
After extensive guideway renovation and technology testing, TPA’s signature people-movers officially opened to the public at the end of August. The Red shuttles were cleared for passengers a few months after the Blue shuttles were commissioned in the spring.
The brand-new Innovia APM 300 R shuttle cars – in Red and Blue mated pairs at each Airside like the last shuttles – are the third generation of automated transports to and from the Main Terminal since TPA opened in 1971. The cars are manufactured by Alstom in the same Pittsburgh-area production facility as the old shuttles.
While the ride will be familiar to TPA’s travelers, the new shuttles feature improved lighting, video information screens, and doors with obstacle-detection systems.
TPA is the first airport in the world to have these shuttles paired with Alstom’s new proprietary operating system, along with new electrical running gear and concrete guideways. The previous generation of shuttles were installed in the 1990s and ran for well over 1 million miles each.
Airside E is getting the same upgrades, with the Red shuttle cars now installed and the new Blue cars coming soon. Work there is scheduled to be completed later this year.
The guideway rehabilitation and shuttle car replacement for Airsides A and C, which includes design and running surfaces, plus eight cars with their controls and signaling systems, cost $61 million. The Airside E replacement project, with four more cars plus guideways and software system, costs an additional $30 million. The projects are funded with bonds and state grants.
New cars also have been ordered for the forthcoming Airside D. Airside F, which has the newest cars of all the Airsides, is due to get new shuttles in the future.
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