Denver International Airport has devised a solution to its increasingly overcrowded transit train system: Get passengers to walk between concourses through underground baggage tunnels.
As passenger frustration grows over packed trains and reliability issues at one of America’s busiest airports, Denver Airport is finally taking action to relieve the pressure, although there are a few obstacles standing in its way.
The problem is that when Denver International Airport was designed, no one thought to put in a passenger walkway connecting the terminal buildings below the busy airfield above.
Thankfully, this solution doesn’t require any expensive and time-consuming tunneling, but instead repurposes one of the airport’s existing baggage tunnels. These tunnels have been there all along; they’re just not suitable for passenger foot traffic, at least, not yet.
Starting in 2027, Denver Airport will start converting portions of its underground baggage tunnels into pedestrian walkways that will relieve the strain on the train, provide a backup option should the train system fail, and give health concious travelers the option to get in some steps ahead of their flight.
What is the solution?
Portions of the existing underground baggage tunnels will be converted into pedestrian walkways as an alternative to the inter-concourse train service.
The parts of the underground tunnel being converted into pedestrian walkways are:
- Concourse A to B
- concourse B to C
“This is a big win for Denver’s travelers and for our entire community,” commented Denver Mayor Mike Johnston after the plans were revealed on Tuesday. “We’ve heard loud and clear that easier, more reliable ways to move between concourses have been a top priority for people traveling in and out of DEN.”
Referring to Denver Airport’s world-famous conspiracy theories, one being that some of the baggage tunnels that run under the airport are actually a secret network of bunkers used by the Freemasons, Mayor Johnston commented:
“And who knows… maybe along the way, travelers will finally get a closer look at the underground tunnels and decide for themselves what’s fact and what’s fiction.”
Given Denver’s status as a major hub for United Airlines, Jonna McGrath, United’s Vice President of Airport Operations, praised the “significant investment” that will “give our customers more options for their connecting flights.”
Meanwhile, Lisa Hingson, Vice President of Customer Experience and Innovation at Southwest Airlines, referred to the new tunnels as “a tremendous addition” to the airport.
Over the last few years, Denver has invested more than $75 million into upgrading the inter-terminal train system, but reliability issues, as well as overcrowding, still pose a regular issue.
In the next few years, more train cars are expected to enter service, while design improvements should address reliability issues. If those investments fail, there will at least be a fallback pedestrian tunnel option.
Common sense improvement – can’t come soon enough
This idea was actually championed by United and Southwest, much to the chagrin of DEN who wanted to spend $3-4B building bridges. The tunnels are there along with the defunct baggage system, the challenge has been how you get passengers into the tunnels and now they have a solution. Word on the street is that the airlines are actually going to lead the construction of these too, not the airport which should help get them open faster without the red tap of Denver