On June 21, Frankfurt Airport’s Sky Line people mover made its first regular stop at the new Station C in Terminal 1. Thanks to the new station, the C Concourse in the eastern part of Terminal 1 is now also served by the airport’s people-mover system. Thus, transfer passengers who depart from or arrive at this concourse can use the Sky Line train to quickly and comfortably shuttle to other parts of the terminals. For example, transfer passengers arriving in Concourse C will save up to 15 minutes to reach a connecting flight in Concourse A. The shuttle trains are accessed from the non-Schengen part of Concourse C, meaning that passengers with an onward non-Schengen flight will not even have to clear immigration when using the Sky Line.
Fraport AG’s executive board member and COO, Anke Giesen, said: “A very efficient and highly reliable transport system, the Sky Line has now been further enhanced by the additional station at Concourse C of Terminal 1. This investment into existing airport infrastructure is part of our strategy to further improve the travel experience for transfer passengers and strengthen Frankfurt Airport’s function as a hub airport.”
Passengers of Lufthansa and other Star Alliance member airlines, in particular, will benefit from the new Sky Line station at the C Concourse. The majority of flights that depart from or arrive at this concourse are operated by Lufhansa and its partner airlines. Typically, these flights also have a high share of transfer passengers. Fraport has invested a total of 24 million euros for building the new station, which supplements and enhances the airport’s existing infrastructure.
Construction of the new station commenced in November 2015 following the site clearance. In July 2016, construction of the shell was completed and works on the facade and the roof began. After the construction of the entire building was completed in April 2017, technical inspections and systems tests followed. A total of 60 individual contracts were awarded to external companies for the planning and implementation of this major infrastructure project. More than 90 workers were employed daily at the constrution site.
A particular challenge was that the new station had to be built between the existing and fully operational tracks of the Sky Line system. During the 19-month construction phase, the Sky Line service between Terminal 1 and 2 had to be restricted for safety reasons only for a short period when heavy building elements had to be lifted over the track structure. The majority of construction works entailing service restrictions were conducted during nighttime or in the early morining/late evening hours, when Sky Line traffic volumes are generally low.
The Sky Line people mover has been in operation since 1994, providing fast and convenient connection between Frankfurt Airport’s two passenger terminals. With the opening of the new station, there are now four Sky Line stations at FRA: Terminal 1 A/Z, Terminal 1 B, Terminal 1 C, and Terminal 2. The automated system operates a fleet of nine driverless, electrically-driven trains.
Each train consists of two coaches. Combined, the trains cover a distance of almost 80,000 kilometers per month, transporting some 800,000 people – among them air passengers, meeters and greeters, airport employees, visitors, and customers of Frankfurt Airport’s many shops and restaurants.
