Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has received an order for an automated people mover system for the first phase of the new Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai.
The contract was awarded by Dubai Aviation City Corporation, a Dubai government entity, to a three-company consortium comprising MHI, its Dubai subsidiary MHI Mobility Engineering Services, and Larsen and Toubro.
The system will run about 50km and connect nine stations. MHI and MHI Mobility Engineering Services lead the consortium and are responsible for the design, procurement and testing of 165 vehicles and the signalling system, and for overall system integration. Larsen and Toubro is responsible for the design, procurement, testing and on-site construction of the remaining subsystems.
Completion is scheduled for December 2031. The airport development targets an opening in 2032 and is planned to serve 260 million passengers a year, with further phased expansion envisaged.
MHI led the consortium that built the Dubai Metro in 2011 and provides operation and maintenance services for it through Keolis MHI Rail Management and Operation. It completed the automated people mover at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport in 2012 and continues to provide operation and maintenance services there.
Automated people movers are used to connect airport terminals, to serve areas around airports and as urban transport systems. MHI states the system will be the largest airport automated people mover in the world. It gives the current largest as Skylink at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, at about 8km, and the most heavily used as The Plane Train at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, carrying around 91 million passengers a year.
