AirTrain JFK connects with Jamaica
AirTrain JFK is an 8.1-mile-long (13 km) elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The driverless system operates 24/7 and consists of three lines and nine stations within the New York City borough of Queens. It connects the airport's terminals with the New York City Subway in Howard Beach, Queens, and with the Long Island Rail Road and the subway in Jamaica, Queens. Alstom operates AirTrain JFK under contract to the airport's operator, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
A railroad link to JFK Airport was first recommended in 1968. Various plans surfaced to build a JFK Airport rail connection until the 1990s, though these were not carried out because of a lack of funding. The JFK Express subway service and shuttle buses provided an unpopular transport system to and around JFK. In-depth planning for a dedicated transport system at JFK began in 1990, but was ultimately cut back from a direct rail link to an intra-borough people mover. Construction of the current people-mover system began in 1998. During construction, AirTrain JFK was the subject of several lawsuits, and an operator died during one of the system's test runs. The system opened on December 17, 2003, after many delays. Several improvements were proposed after the system's opening, including an unbuilt extension to Manhattan. AirTrain JFK originally had ten stations, but the Terminal 2 stop was closed in 2022.
All passengers entering or exiting at either Jamaica or Howard Beach must pay a $8.25 fare, while passengers traveling within the airport can ride for free. The system was originally projected to carry 4 million annual paying passengers and 8.4 million annual inter-terminal passengers every year. The AirTrain has consistently exceeded these projections since opening. In 2022, the system carried a total of 6,737,100 passengers, or about 17,800 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2023.System
Routes
AirTrain JFK connects the airport's terminals and parking areas with the Howard Beach and Jamaica stations. It runs entirely within the New York City borough of Queens. The system consists of three routes: two connecting the terminals with either the Howard Beach or Jamaica stations, and one route looping continuously around the central terminal area. It is operated by Alstom (which purchased Bombardier in 2021) under contract to the Port Authority.The Howard Beach Train route (colored green on the official map) begins and ends at the Howard Beach–JFK Airport station, where there is a direct transfer to the New York City Subway's A train. It makes an additional stop at Lefferts Boulevard, where passengers can transfer to parking lot shuttle buses; the Q3 bus to Jamaica; the B15 bus to Brooklyn; and the limited-stop Q10 bus. The segment from Howard Beach to Federal Circle, which is about 1.8 miles (2.9 km) long, passes over the long-term and employee parking lots.The Jamaica Train route (colored red on the official map) begins and ends at the Jamaica station, adjacent to the Long Island Rail Road platforms there. The Jamaica station contains a connection to the Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport station on the New York City Subway's E​, ​J, and ​Z trains. The AirTrain and LIRR stations contain transfers to the subway, as well as to ground-level bus routes. West of Jamaica, the line travels above the north side of 94th Avenue before curving southward onto the Van Wyck Expressway. The segment from Jamaica to Federal Circle is about 3.1 miles (5.0 km) long.
The Howard Beach Train and Jamaica Train routes merge at Federal Circle for car rental companies and shuttle buses to hotels and the airport's cargo areas. South of Federal Circle, the routes share track for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and enter a tunnel before the tracks separate in two directions for the 2-mile (3.2 km) terminal loop. Both routes continue counterclockwise around the loop, stopping at Terminals 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 in that order. A connection to the Q3 local bus is available at Terminal 8. The travel time from either Jamaica or Howard Beach to the JFK terminals is about eight minutes. The Airport Terminals Loop (colored gold on the official map), an airport terminal circulator, runs counterclockwise around each terminal, in the opposite direction from the Howard Beach Train and Jamaica Train routes. The terminal area loop is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) long.As of 2023, service on the AirTrain Terminals Loop is suspended because of a long-term closure of the Terminal 1 station. During this closure, the Jamaica and Howard Beach branches serve  Terminals 4, 5, 7, and 8 in both directions, traveling between Terminal 4 and their respective northern termini.Trains to and from Jamaica and Howard Beach were originally planned to run every two minutes during peak hours, with alternate trains traveling to each branch. The final environmental impact statement projected that trains in the central terminal area would run every ninety seconds. By 2014 actual frequencies were much lower: each branch was served by one train every seven to 12 minutes during peak hours. Trains arrived every 10 to 15 minutes on each branch during weekdays; every 15 to 20 minutes during late nights; and every 16 minutes during weekends.