Now that the Skylink people mover is up and running, planners at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport are brainstorming about a second train to help local passengers get from outlying parking areas to the terminals.
While the concept of a "Phase 2" train is still in its infancy, it would most likely connect the remote and express parking lots and rental-car facility to the terminals, said Perfecto Solis, D/FW's assistant vice president of project development.
Skylink can't be accessed until after you pass through security.
"There is a perception that Skylink is a system to move around the airport," Solis said. "Visitors to the airport may be somewhat surprised that it is all on the sterile side of the airport. Skylink is for moving from terminal to terminal."
That means Skylink may be of little use to many local air travelers, who know which terminal to park near. (It is, on the other hand, of great use to connecting passengers -- D/FW's bread and butter.)
So the need for a second train to carry local passengers and airport employees around the airport, while not imminent, is out there.
Beyond that, there are no details: No track alignment. No type of train. No way to pay for what would probably be an expensive project.
"It's conceptual," said Ron Sheahan, project manager of D/FW's people-mover system.
In fact, there's no time frame for Phase 2. That's interesting because there is a time frame for Phase 3. In four years, D/FW will need to have built its "13th station," an additional Skylink stop that will also serve the future Cotton Belt commuter train and Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail lines.
Cotton Belt should be ready to roll to the airport around 2009, said Keith Wilschetz, D/FW's chief planner. The new DART line should be ready around 2011.
Or at least that's when regional officials are telling D/FW folks that they need to be ready with their station.
