TPA's Airside A shuttle cars removed to make way for replacements

Tampa International Airport's Airside A Blue shuttle cars were officially retired this week when they were removed from their elevated guideway between the Main Terminal and the Airside to make way for their modern replacements.

Workers used a crane early Wednesday morning to lift the two cars onto a flatbed truck and haul them away. Since being commissioned in the 1990s, the old cars have rolled back and forth for about 1 million miles.

The new APM-300R shuttle cars that will replace them are due in the coming weeks. They are currently being tested at the Pittsburgh-area production facility for Alstom, the same company that manufactured the old cars.

The new shuttle cars are sleek, updated versions of the automated technology originally made famous by TPA's hub-and-spoke layout. While these vehicles will be brand new, the passenger journey aboard the shuttles will continue to be the familiar, efficient experience TPA travelers have had since introduced in 1971.

The new Blue cars will go into operation later this year after they are installed and tested. Then the old Red shuttle cars will be removed and replaced. Airside C will undergo a similar replacement in the coming months.

The guideway rehabilitation and shuttle car replacement, which includes design and running surfaces, plus eight cars with their controls and signaling systems, is budgeted to cost $61 million. The project is being funded with bonds and state grants.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board of Directors approved the shuttle replacement in October 2021.

Replacement cars have already been ordered for Airside E and the forthcoming Airside D, scheduled to open in 2028. Airside F, which has the newest cars of all the airsides, is due to get new shuttles in the future.

To enlarge or download a photo or the video, click on an item below: