Regional Rail Maps
An Airport Train to Downtown Columbus
Summary
Build a fully-automated rail link connecting the John Glenn Columbus International Airport terminal to other services in the airport area. From there, run along 670 to connect to the Convention Center, the Arena District, the Scioto Peninsula, and River South.
Long description
Columbus is an award-winning convention city, but it still has no regular public transportation between the airport and Downtown. That fact is a significant part of why Columbus keeps losing contracts to host national political conventions: no one wants to send party delegates to a city where they have to take an Uber to the convention hotel because the last public bus leaves the airport at 8:29 p.m.
Los Angeles just installed a 2.25-mile automated people mover to connect the LAX airport to parking, hotels, and the LA metro rail system.
Automated People Movers are, generally speaking, small trains running on dedicated concrete guideways. They run without drivers in fully automated systems, with platform screen doors. They’re all over the place in US airports, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tampa, San Francisco, Atlanta, JFK, and …. you get the point. This technology is proven in airport contexts.
These same rubber-tired autormated vehicles are also used to provide general transit services in Miami, Detroit, Tokyo, elsewhere in Tokyo, Taiwan, … and many, many more locations. Automated trains are proven tech, with off-the-shelf solutions available from several manufacturers: Alstom Inovia, Mitsubishi Crystal Mover, and others. It’s not just for airports, it’s for the rest of the city, too.
Columbus should follow the example of Los Angeles. Columbus’ airport peoplemover should extend to the nearest local hotspot: Downtown Columbus. Such a system isn’t just for airline passengers and convention-goers: stops along 670 would serve employers, schools, and neighborhoods east of Downtown.
By using automated people movers, Columbus would gain affordable, high-frequency, 24/7 transit service with self-driving vehicles on a dedicated track. LAX has a train every two minutes during peak hours, and automated people movers are used in several international metro systems. It’s nothing exceptional. It’s the way of the future, and it’s already here.
Why this tech, and why now?
In 2022, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority began designing a new terminal building for John Glenn International Airport. This redesign presents a perfect opportunity to build an automated connection from the airport to Downtown. Our peer cities have equivalent transit connections. It’s time for Columbus to catch up.
Stops
- The terminal building.
- This stop services the four airport hotels, as well as the ATC building and Lane Aviation.
- One stop covers the Blue Lot, the McDonald's, and the Blue Lot parking lot.
- An island station in the middle of International Gateway services the Red Lot by a long pedestrian bridge. This station's awkward placement is driven by the need to route the APM tracks under the taxiway bridge. This station should be a hit with planewatchers!
- This island station serves the Green Lot via a pedestrian bridge. Another pedestrian bridge connects the line to The Parking Spot and Steler Road.
- A station over Cassady Avenue connects to the Comfort Suites, Best Western, and Holiday Inn Express.
- A stop over Airport Drive connects to the Embassy Suites, the Staybridge Suites, the Courtyard by Mariott, the Tru by Hilton, the Columbus Airport Mariott, some senior living facilities, and the Waffle House.
- The last station on Airport Drive connects to the eastern campus of Ohio Dominican University. The western campus is connected by the Alum Creek Trail. This station should be funded in party by Ohio Dominican University.
- The 5th Avenue stop connects to several COTA lines, as well as the Columbus Metropolitan Library and the St. Mary's neighborhood.
- An island station on 670 connects to Nelson Road underneath, the 670 Bikeway, and the Amazon DCN2 facility.
- Leonard Avenue connects to Devon Triangle and Woodland Park neighborhoods.
- Joyce Avenue connects to Devon Triangle and Mount Vernon, and is just a hop away from King-Lincoln Bronzeville.
- St. Clair services Milo-Grogan and the west end of King-Lincoln Bronzeville,
- Cleveland Avenue connects to the CMAX line, bringing Westerville passengers to a two-seat trip to the airport. This stop also services Abbot Nutrition, a major employer, and the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center. This area of the city is almost completely cut off from surrounding neighborhoods, so building a stop here provides access to educational opportunities to the rest of the city.
- I used to think that this stop should go beneath the convention center, but now I believe that it should be placed above. There's space for one track under the Convention Center without removing Convention Center Drive, but that doesn't allow any space for a station or bidirectional traffic. Place this station aboveground, where it can be visible.
- Positioning the station on the back side of Nationwide Arena allows it to occupy the airspace of several parking lots, while still connecting to Neil Avenue, Vine Street, and Front Street without too much of a walk.
- This one stop services all three venues thanks to generous sidewalks. The Hanover Street alignment lines up a quick connection across the Scioto.
- A station in the Veteran's Memorial parking lot services Broad Street, the Statehouse, and Franklington, while also improving the land usae in this area.
- This terminus services the south end of Downtown and the Scioto Trail. Scioto-Audubon Metro Park is just a short walk away.
Ridership
The most important consideration in any transit line is ridership: how many people can be expected to use it?
More than 30 million passengers boarded airplanes at John Glenn International Airport in 2021, according to the 2021 CRAA Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
I haven’t found numbers for the total number of guests at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in a year, or for the estimated number of passengers who fly into CMH and then go to a convention, but consider: The 2023 Arnold Sports Festival brought an estimated 100,000 people to Columbus for one event, including more than 12,000 athletes from around the world.
For comparison, the Detroit People Mover is a circular line, most akin to the defunct CBUS Circulator bus route, and had 364,300 annual riders in 2022. The Miami-Dade Metromover had more than 5.5 million annual riders in 2022.
I would estimate we’re looking at 10 million annual riders on this route. But I haven’t done the actual STOPS assessments. This is a visionary proposal, not an actual application for FTA funding.
Funding
It would likely take $1-2 billion to build this train, and around $10 million per year for maintenance.
Primary funds would come from the Columbus Regional Airport Authority and the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, with additional money from the city, state, and feds as necessary. It would be ideal if CRAA and FCCFA could finance this project entirely from their own funds, and develop it under their own recognizance. COTA and MORPC are currently focused on building bus rapid transit lines that don’t approach the airport.
Can CRAA and FCCFA afford this project?
- CRAA’s January 2023 board meeting notes report $135.7M in revenue in CY 2022, of which 33% was parking fees. Switching from the existing shuttle-bus solution to an APM wouldn’t divert revenue. However, allowing passengers to ride the APM from Downtown or other transit routes to the airport, instead of requiring passengers to drive and park, would divert some revenue. This could be made up for by allowing suburban commuters to use CRAA parking lots for park-and-ride service into Downtown Columbus, or to other spots along the APM line. This includes the possibility of using the airport surface lots as a park-and-ride collector for the Amtrak station located at the Convention Center.
- FCCFA’s 2023 budget documents show that FCCFA financed the $269m cost of the new hospital tower by issuing $160m in bonds repayable over 30 years, backed by Franklin County’s taxation authority. FCCFA charges a 4% hotel occupancy tax on Franklin County and an additional 0.9% occupancy tax within the City of Columbus; these taxes are projected to bring in $26.8 million dollars in 2023.
Operating costs would come from airport fees, increased rates on connecting hotels, and fares charged for people boarding the train at locations other than the airport.
One major point of contention is that this project might decrease CRAA’s parking revenue, by reducing the number of passengers who need to drive to the airport. This revenue could be offset by opening some of CRAA’s parking lots to park-and-ride service for commuters entering into Downtown. This would be most efficient if the operators of Downtown parking garages raised their daily fee above the cost of rail fare plus daily parking.
Additionally, this system should pursue fare integration with COTA, to allow painless transfers from COTA bus lines, and to take advantage of COTA’s fare capping scheme. This will reduce the cost for commuters.
The total construction cost of similar systems:
- AirTrain JFK, NYC, 8.1 miles, 9 stations, three routes, 20k daily ridership, about $2 billion
- LAX Automated People Mover, California, 2.25 miles, 6 stations, 1 route, part of a $5.5 billion terminal modernization program
- Cairo, Egypt, paid Alstom $2.7 billion for two automated monorail lines covering about 60 miles of track, with 30 years of operation and maintenance services included.
- Las Vegas Monorail, Nevada, 3.9 miles, 7 stations, 1 route, $650 million in 1995
For maintenance costs:
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport paid Alstom about $90 million for a 10-year maintenance contract in 2021.
- Washington Dulles International Airport paid Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Crystal Mover Services $136 million for a 10-year contract in 2014.
For comparison, ODOT is spending $1.4 billion-with-a-b dollars on widening I-71 and I-70 in the areas around Downtown Columbus, and $112 million to widen SR 161 between 270 and New Albany, to support the Intel development. $48 million to convert a shoulder on I-71 to a smart lane between 5th Avenue and SR 161.
