The Express Tram is cool. A lot of airports have automated people movers that will transport you from concourse to concourse, but how many airports have people movers *inside* a concourse? Not many.
The Express Tram is located inside Concourse A of the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW). It opened in 2002, coinciding with the opening of the terminal. Concourse A at DTW is one of the longest concourses in the world at approximately one mile from end to end, servicing 78 gates; hence, the need for the tram.
Despite being unveiled over 15 years ago, the Express Tram still looks and feels relatively new. There are information boards, with both English and Japanese text, located throughout the concourse. These boards utilized red LEDs to let you know, at any given time, the location of the system's two trams and the exact time the next tram leaves the station you're closest to. It's neat to see the trams quietly whoosh by overhead as you walk along the concourse. It looks like something you'd see from a futuristic sci-fi TV show, movie, or video game.
The trams are driverless and travel in opposite directions between three stations: South, Terminal (the center station), and North. The map on the info board will tell you, but use South Station for Gates A1-A28, Terminal Station for Gates A29-A55, and North Station for Gates A56-A78. It takes a little over three minutes for a tram to travel between the two termini. The trams travel at about 25-30 miles per hour. When we used them, the stations and trams themselves were spacious, clean, and in great condition. The Japanese text and cleanliness reminded me of Japan.
Excellent quality. For the Motor City, I'd expect nothing less. Five stars. read more