The Plane Train

The Plane Train is an automated people mover system located at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport connecting all of its terminals and concourses. Built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the system is the world's most heavily traveled airport people mover. The system is currently operated and maintained by Alstom, which acquired the system's previous operator, Bombardier Transportation, in 2021.

Hartsfield–Jackson and news coverage describe the Plane Train as carrying more than 250,000 passengers per day within the airport complex. The airport has described it as the world’s most heavily traveled airport people mover.

The Plane Train operates in the secure area of the airport connecting the two landside terminals with its seven airside concourses. It exists within the airport's Transportation Mall, which consists of three underground tunnels running through the center of the airport. The trains operate in the two outer tunnels, while the middle tunnel contains an alternative pedestrian pathway with moving walkways.

The system has eight stations: one at each of Concourses A, B, C, D, E and F (International Terminal), and two in the Domestic Terminal—one at Concourse T, which is also the station for passengers from the Domestic Terminal heading to Concourses A–F, and one at the Domestic Baggage Claim and Ground Transportation. The system operates with 11 four-car trains during peak periods.

The Domestic Baggage Claim and Concourses T, E, and F stations have island platforms shared between the two tunnels. The stations for Concourses A, B, C, and D have platforms between the tunnels, though they are not directly across from each other. All platforms have platform screen doors, all of which have a set of red lights that flash alternately to warn that the doors are closing, a feature present since the mid-late 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

During regular service, trains run bi-directionally in the tunnels in a pinched-loop configuration. The east end of the line is Concourse F, which also serves the International Terminal. During peak hours, the trains will stop at the eastbound side of the Concourse F platform, unload and then proceed further to a cross-over track to return to the westbound side of the platform. During off-peak hours, trains cross-over prior to reaching the platform and arrive/depart from the westbound Concourse F platform. At the west end, trains use a cross-over track between Domestic Terminal and Concourse T stations to switch tunnels. The system has two maintenance workshops: One at Concourse E and another at Concourse F. A third track runs parallel to the two main tracks between Concourses E and F, which connects the two maintenance facilities and is used for testing trains during maintenance.

Since the train operates inside the secure area of the airport, arriving passengers ending their journeys at the International terminal cannot use the train and must instead take a lengthy ground transportation detour around the perimeter of the airport to access facilities such as the car rental center or MARTA station. Departing international passengers entering the International Terminal may use the train to access Concourse E or the other concourses.

On the platforms and inside the trains, color video displays provide system information in eight languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Korean) as well as information about dining and shopping options in the concourses. Platform displays announce the time of arrival for the next train and its destination.