View source for Terminal Link

{{Short description|Automated people mover at Toronto's Pearson Airport}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{for|the people mover in Houston|TerminaLink}}
{{Distinguish|Union Pearson Express}}
{{Infobox rail line
| name            = Terminal Link
| color           = {{rcr|Link Train}}
| image           = GTAA LINK train clip.JPG
| image_width     = 265px
| caption         = Terminal Link train approaching Terminal 1 station in 2012, in old livery
| type            = [[People mover]]
| system          = 
| status          = Operational
| locale          = [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]], [[Mississauga]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]
| start           = Terminal 1
| end             = Viscount
| stations        = 3
| routes          = 
| daily_ridership = 17,000 (2012)
| open            = {{Start date and age|2006|07|06}}
| close           = 
| owner           = [[Greater Toronto Airports Authority]]
| operator        = Greater Toronto Airports Authority
| character       = Elevated
| stock           = [[Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group#Doppelmayr Cable Car|DCC]] [[Cable Liner]]
| linelength      = {{convert|1.5|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}
| tracklength     = 
| tracks          = 2 parallel shuttles
| gauge           = [[Automated guideway transit]]
| electrification = {{convert|36|mm|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Cable car (railway)|Cable Propelled Transit]]
| speed           = {{convert|43.2|km/h|mph|2|abbr=on}}
| elevation       = 
| map             = {{Link Train map}}
}}

The '''Terminal Link''', formerly known as '''Link Train''', is an [[Automated guideway transit|automated]] [[people mover]] (APM) at [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]] in [[Mississauga]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]].<ref name=link/><ref name=Dcn2006-07-06>The 1.5 km line connects Terminals 1 and 3 (there is no longer a Terminal 2) and the Viscount Reduced Rate parking lot and garage. {{cite news|url=http://dcnonl.com/article/20060705100|title=Airport opens automated people mover: New train system connects three terminals, parking area|publisher=[[Daily Commercial News]]|author=Irwin Rapoport|date=July 6, 2006|location=[[Toronto]]|archive-date=January 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130103940/http://dcnonl.com/article/20060705100|url-status=dead|quote=It’s a 1.5-kilometre train with three stations gliding along an elevated guideway connecting Terminals 1, 3 and a reduced rate parking area serving both passengers and employees of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA).|access-date=February 13, 2013}}</ref> The [[wheelchair-accessible]] train runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is completely [[Free public transport|free-of-charge]] to ride. In 2012, it transported 17,000 passengers daily, 60 to 70% of whom were airport staff.<ref name=TorontoStar2012-05-21>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/transportation/article/1181906--pearson-s-cable-propelled-transit-link-is-ttc-rider-s-dream|title=Pearson's cable-propelled transit LINK is TTC rider's dream|publisher=[[Toronto Star]]|author=Tess Kalinowski|date=May 21, 2012|location=[[Toronto]]|archive-date=November 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112212800/http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2012/05/21/pearsons_cablepropelled_transit_link_is_ttc_riders_dream.html|url-status=live|quote=Propelled on a continuous loop of 36mm hydraulic cable, the LINK system is actually two driverless trains that operate side by side on an elevated guideway, shuttling back and forth on a 1.5-km, three-stop route in about four minutes.}}</ref>

==History==
The original proposal for an automated people mover system at Pearson Airport was submitted in May 2002.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} Six months later, on November 15, 2002, a {{CA$|55-million|link=yes}} contract was signed with [[DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car]] GmbH of [[Wolfurt]], [[Austria]], followed by four years of construction, and the system opened to the public on July 6, 2006. The service initially operated alongside its predecessor, the Link [[airport bus|shuttle bus]] system.

The system cost $150 million.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McGran|first1=Kevin|title=Testing, testing, bump; Volunteers try out airport monorail|work=Toronto Star|date=June 19, 2006|page=B05}}</ref>

==Design and rolling stock==
The Terminal Link uses a pair of [[Cable Liner]] trains,<ref name=link /><ref name=Dcn2006-07-06/> each composed of seven permanently-coupled cars. They use a [[Cable car (railway)|cable-hauled]], [[Tension (physics)|drive and tension]] system. Each train has capacity for 175 passengers with baggage (25 per car: 17 standing, 8 seated) or 2,500 [[passengers per hour per direction]] (pphpd).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D7hUAAAAMAAJ&q=%22pearson+international+airport%22+%22Doppelmayr+Cable+Car%22+OR+people-mover+OR+%22people+mover%22+OR+cable-car+OR+cablecar|title=The Canadian Architect, Volume 49|publisher=[[Southam Business Publications]]|date=2004|page=13|access-date=February 12, 2013|quote=Scheduled to begin operations in 2006, the GTAA's new Automated People Mover (APM) will have the ability to carry as many as 2.150 people each way every hour in the first phase of operations.}}</ref>

The two trains, plus a small work car, cost a total of {{CAD|56 million|link=yes}} when delivered.<ref name=Dcn2006-07-06/> They were refurbished in 2013, and received a new paint scheme, new seats, and a seventh car (they were originally delivered and used as six-car trains).<ref name="DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH">{{cite book|title=Automated People Mover (APM): Planner's guide|publisher=DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH|year=2008|page=89}}</ref>

==Stations and operation ==
The two [[Elevated railway|fully elevated]] lines, running side-by-side, are {{convert|1.5|km|mi|1}} long, and have a one-way travel time of four minutes.<ref name="TorontoStar2012-05-21" /> They serve three stations:
* [[Toronto Pearson Terminal 1 station|Terminal 1]]
* [[Toronto Pearson Terminal 3 station|Terminal 3]]
* [[Toronto Pearson Viscount station|Viscount]] (long-term parking on Airport Road)

Both lines operate independently in [[Public transport|shuttle]] mode with a total capacity of up to 2,180 [[Passengers per hour per direction|pphpd]].<ref name=Dcn2006-07-06/> The trains run on rubber tires on a smooth steel surface and all [[Ground propulsion|propulsion]] is provided by the cable. The absence of [[Traction motor|onboard motors]], [[railway brake|braking systems]] and [[gearboxes]] eliminates excessive noise, oil spills from the trains, and dust from brakes.<ref name=TorontoStar2012-05-21/> Doppelmayr asserts that a cable-driven APM is the most environmentally responsible solution for transportation in high density applications.<ref>{{cite book|title=DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car|publisher=DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH|year=2008|page=7}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''Specifications'''
! Length
| {{convert|1473|m|ft}}
|-
! Configuration
|Dual track shuttle with two trains operating independently
|-
! Operating Speed
| {{convert|43.2|kph|mph}}
|-
! Headway
|250 s
|-
! Dwell Time
|36 s
|-
! Guideway
|Elevated steel tube truss
|-
! System Capacity
|2,500 [[pphpd]]
|-
! Stations
|3
|-
! Trains
|Two 7-car trains 
|-
! Train Capacity
|25 passengers/vehicle, 175 passengers/train
|}

==Disruptions==
On March 30, 2009, the Link Train was put out of service for extensive maintenance due to engineering design flaws. During this time, service was [[Rail replacement bus service|replaced by an inter-terminal shuttle bus]] contracted to [[Penetang-Midland Coach Lines]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} Normal service resumed in July 2009.<ref name=TorontoStar2012-05-21/>

On March 16, 2013, the Link Train was shut down for approximately eight months during construction of the [[Union Pearson Express]]. The trains were refurbished during this time and received a seventh car, new seats, and a new paint scheme.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.torontopearson.com/employeeupdates/# | title=Terminal Link Train Is Back In Service - Toronto Pearson Employee Community | work=Toronto Pearson International Airport | date=November 8, 2013 | access-date=November 8, 2013}}</ref>

==Connections==
The [[Union Pearson Express]] [[airport rail link]] service between Pearson Airport and [[Union Station (Toronto)|Union Station]] in [[Downtown Toronto]] opened on June 6, 2015, in time for the [[2015 Pan American Games]].<ref name=TorontoStar2012-05-21/> It directly serves [[Toronto Pearson Terminal 1 station|Terminal 1]], with a connection to [[Toronto Pearson Terminal 3 station|Terminal 3]] via the Terminal Link.

A number of [[Transportation in Toronto|public transport bus services in the GTA]] have a stop on the [[Toronto Pearson Terminal 1 Station#Connections|lower level of Terminal 1]]; these include the [[Toronto Transit Commission]] (TTC), [[MiWay]], [[Brampton Transit]], and [[GO Transit]]. The TTC has an additional stop on the lower level at Terminal 3, served after departing Terminal 1. At Viscount station, connections to MiWay and Brampton Transit's [[Züm]] can be made.

As originally proposed, [[Line 5 Eglinton]] was to connect Pearson Airport with [[Scarborough, Ontario|Scarborough]] by 2018 as part of the ''[[Transit City]]'' plan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2009/November_17_2009/Reports/Eglinton_Crosstown_L.pdf|title=Commission Report Macro|access-date=March 11, 2010|archive-date=July 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726050219/http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2009/November_17_2009/Reports/Eglinton_Crosstown_L.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pdf/board_agenda/20100519/Five_in_Ten_Board_web.pdf|title=Achieving 5 in 10: A Revised Plan for the Big 5 Transit Projects|publisher=[[Metrolinx]]|author=Jack Collins|date=May 19, 2010|archive-date=February 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213041655/http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pdf/board_agenda/20100519/Five_in_Ten_Board_web.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> However, when the four Transit City lines were found to be $2.4 billion over their funding envelope in January 2010, parts of the network were deferred, including the western section of the Eglinton LRT.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} A future extension could eventually reach the airport, completing the line as envisioned. As of 2020 planning for the western extension is underway and [[Metrolinx]] hopes to complete the line by 2030–31.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eglinton Crosstown West Extension |url=http://www.metrolinx.com/en/greaterregion/projects/eglinton-crosstown-west.aspx |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=link>{{cite web|url=http://www.torontopearson.com/en/link/|title=Terminal Link|publisher=Toronto Pearson|access-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329190748/http://torontopearson.com/en/link/|archive-date=March 29, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commons category|LINK Train}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.torontopearson.com/en/transportation-and-parking/terminal-link-train|author=GTAA|title=Link Train|access-date=February 28, 2021}}
* [http://www.dcc.at Doppelmayr Cable Car], designer's webpage
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060721211841/http://www.dcc.at/cells/4_1/tdt.html Airport People Mover technical data]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050405202545/http://www.dcc.at/main.htm Airport People Mover System]
* [http://www.doppelmayr.com Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group], parent company of DCC

{{Canadianmetros}}
{{Torontometros}}
{{North American airport people movers}}

[[Category:Transport in the Greater Toronto Area]]
[[Category:Light rail in Canada]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transport in Mississauga]]
[[Category:Airport people mover systems]]
[[Category:Cable Liner people movers]]
[[Category:Toronto Pearson International Airport]]
[[Category:People mover systems in Canada]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 2006]]
[[Category:2006 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:Electric railways in Canada]]