Atlanta’s spending $58M on new Plane Train cars to move you better around airport

It should come as no surprise that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is set to drop big bucks to expand its primary (non-plane) people-moving system.

Moving people efficiently, after all, is a top priority at the world’s busiest passenger airport.

Plans to expand the Plane Train system—not to be confused with the above-ground ATL SkyTrain—entail spending $58 million on new cars, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

And that’s just a fraction of a much larger plan to bolster the people-moving capacity of the Plane Train.

Officials also expect to spend some $260 million to extend the Plane Train tracks to afford the cars more room for maneuverability.

Essentially, more breathing room makes it easier for the trains to switch direction after they arrive at the domestic terminal.

The Plane Train now has the capacity for 11 four-car trains to run in concert between the domestic terminal, concourses, and the international terminal, according to the paper.

The nearly $60 million purchase is expected to bring 14 more cars to the system. They’d be delivered in about two years.

Once the track is extended, up to 15 trains would be able to run simultaneously.

News of the impending Plane Train car purchase comes on the heels of College Park officials moving forward with plans to create a potentially 420-acre “Airport City” next door to the airport.

That colossal development could yield nearly 5 million square feet of high-end office space, up to six hotels, and more than 750,000 square feet of restaurants and retail, not to mention an outlet mall and a massive network of multi-use trails.