Agency’s Project to Replace AirTrain Newark Moves Forward with Latest Contract Award for New System’s Guideway and New Stations as Project’s Procurement Phases Reach 80 Percent Awarded

 

Contract to Joint-Venture Firm of Tutor Perini/O&G Includes Agency-Mandated Goals Around Hiring Local, Minority, Women and Veteran Contractors

 

New AirTrain Newark System is Part of Recently Announced Vision Plan for Reimagined and Modern Newark Liberty International Airport

 

New AirTrain Newark Renderings are Available Here and Renderings from EWR Vision Plan are Available Here

 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today announced it has selected the joint-venture firm of Tutor Perini/O&G to design and build a new 2.5-mile elevated rail structure and three new stations to replace its existing AirTrain Newark on-airport mass transit system. The agency has now completed 80 percent of the procurement process needed to deliver a new modern, reliable automated people mover train system with this latest contract award in the agency’s multi-phase procurement process to replace the current outmoded AirTrain system at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

 

The agency’s Board of commissioners voted today to award the $1.184 billion design-build contract to Tutor Perini/O&G for the design and construction of the new 2.5-mile elevated rail structure, known as the guideway, and three new stations for the new AirTrain system that will align with the ongoing redevelopment of Newark Liberty. The existing AirTrain Newark opened for service in 1996 and has become outdated and unable to accommodate growing air travel demand at the airport, where the Port Authority opened a new and much larger Terminal A in 2023 to replace the previous 50-year-old terminal.

 

The agency recently announced details of its EWR Vision Plan, aimed at accommodating increasing demand and evolving changes in the air travel industry, as well as enhancing the overall passenger experience. Under the agency’s guidance and in line with the world-class standards set by the new award-winning Terminal A, the entire Newark Liberty will be reimagined with modern terminals and infrastructure, a more intuitive roadway network, and a redesigned taxiway network to accommodate more aircraft and reduce delays.

 

“Today’s action by the Board marks the next chapter in the effort to completely transform Newark Liberty International Airport into a world-class gateway worthy of our region,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “As we work on a modern new airport in Newark that will include new or expanded airport facilities, a reliable on-airport mass transit system will ensure that passengers and airport workers can get to where they need to go on a new state-of-the-art AirTrain system.”

 

“Our major airports are the front doors of this region for the rest of the world and ensuring easy, reliable public transit to and from the airport is critical,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “As we embark on the Newark vision plan, a new AirTrain is essential to both meeting increasing volumes at our airports and delivering a world-class passenger experience for Newark Liberty passengers.”

 

The agency is delivering the new AirTrain Newark system through a multi-phase procurement process, separated into procurement phases for the building, manufacturing, delivery and installation of the system technology; early works; guideway and stations; a maintenance and control facility for the system equipment; pedestrian connections between new stations and existing airport facilities; and for the demolition of the existing AirTrain. In December 2023 after a rigorous review process, the Port Authority selected Doppelmayr, a market leader in cable-propelled transport systems, for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the automated people mover system and its vehicles. In summer 2024, engineering firm Stantec was selected to design the new maintenance and control facility and the pedestrian connectors, and to decommission the existing AirTrain.

 

Tutor Perini/O&G consists of Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC) and O&G Industries Inc. (O&G), which together will be the lead contractor for the project and will work as a joint venture with joint and several liabilities. The joint-venture firm has worked together on 11 large infrastructure projects nationwide, such as transportation projects for the Los Angeles Metro, the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles International Airport and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Separately, Tutor Perini Corporation is one of the nation’s largest full service general contractors with a significant portfolio of transit projects and highway, bridge and tunnel projects, including history working on Port Authority projects such as the Jamaica terminal on AirTrain JFK and the World Trade Center campus. O&G Industries Inc. (O&G) is a privately owned company in Torrington, Conn., and is one of the Northeast’s leading providers of construction services and materials with experience on airport projects such as Bradley International Airport’s Terminal A and air traffic control tower in Connecticut.

 

As with all Port Authority capital projects, its contractors are mandated to create equitable economic opportunities. Tutor Perini/O&G has committed to making good-faith efforts to meet specific benchmarks around the hiring of minority-owned business enterprises, women-owned business enterprises, service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises, and locally owned business enterprises, with those from the cities of Newark and Elizabeth prioritized. The firm is also required to develop a locally based workforce development program to hire program participants for future work on the new system’s design and construction.

 

Of the remaining procurement phases that have yet to be completed, the agency expects to award smaller packages related to the construction of the new AirTrain’s maintenance and control facility and the pedestrian connectors, and to decommission the current system. Construction is expected to begin on the new AirTrain Newark system in 2025, with passenger service expected in 2030.

 

AirTrain Newark serves as the primary travel option for millions of Newark Liberty passengers to transfer between three airport terminals, parking and rental car facilities, and regional rail transit via the Newark Airport Rail Link station, which connects to NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak rail service on the Northeast Corridor line. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the AirTrain carried an average of 33,000 passengers per day, or approximately 12 million passengers per year. Year to date, AirTrain Newark served nearly 5.5 million passengers in 2024, with the vast majority using the system on-airport to transfer among airport facilities.

 

To deliver the AirTrain Newark project, the Port Authority Board also voted to increase the project budget to $3.5 billion, adding $1.45 billion to the previously approved amount of $2.05 billion. The agency attributed the rise in cost to the following factors:

 

• Five-year delay due to COVID-19 pandemic pause and start from scratch re-procurement of all elements in the program;

 

• Historic spike in inflation during the pause period

 

• Even higher inflation in the construction marketplace due to supply chain issues and instability in cost for materials;

 

• Extra sharp risk premiums assigned to mega projects

 

The agency’s contracting strategy of using a multi-phased procurement process avoided more than $1 billion in additional costs had the agency awarded the contract as a single procurement request to design, build, operate and maintain the entire AirTrain system. The agency reevaluated the estimated cost for the AirTrain project to better reflect the realities of current market conditions, high levels of economy-wide inflation and their related impact on certain construction materials and labor, and the construction industry’s reluctance to take on mega infrastructure projects in the current economic climate. The project’s initial costs had been made and authorized by the Board prior to the pandemic in October 2019.

 

The updated budget will be offset by deferred spending from the PATH rail extension project, as well as other cost-saving measures such as value engineering, reduced project scope and other deferred or reduced spending on other projects in the agency’s 2017-2026 Capital Plan.

 

In addition to the AirTrain Newark replacement project, the Port Authority in 2023 announced plans to improve local community access for underserved communities in Newark and Elizabeth at the Newark Airport Rail Link station, which connects AirTrain Newark to the airport and also NJ TRANSIT rail and Amtrak services on the Northeast Corridor line. The EWR Station Access Project was engineered to deliver many of the community benefits of a PATH rail extension to the AirTrain Newark Rail Link station faster and at a significantly reduced cost. With the EWR Station Access project capable of delivering the PATH rail extension’s goals for local community access to New York City and the airport, as well as the funding shortfall for the project, the PATH rail extension was deferred in 2023 to a future capital plan.

 

Redeveloping Newark Liberty International Airport

 

The Port Authority is in the midst of a complete redevelopment of Newark Liberty International Airport that began with the 2023 opening of Terminal A – the centerpiece of an airport-wide renaissance designed to establish the airport as a world-class gateway for the New Jersey and New York region. The airport’s redevelopment is outlined in the agency’s EWR Vision plan to accommodate future growth and deliver a world-class air travel experience from curb to gate. The Port Authority expects to begin a two- to three-year planning process in 2025 for major elements of the airport redevelopment, such as:

 

• Terminal development: A new, world-class international terminal to replace the current Terminal B, while enhancing Terminal C to improve the customer experience. Both would complement the airport’s award-winning new Terminal A that opened in January 2023, which could also see further expansion. The spacious, streamlined terminals would allow the airport to accommodate continued growth in passenger volume, while leaving space for further expansion as needed.

 

• Airside development: Improving airport operations with a more efficient and resilient taxiway network, while accommodating the industry trend toward larger aircraft. The new network would increase parking capacity and flexibility for aircraft, while creating redundancies to minimize delays during irregular operations. It incorporates additional deicing facilities, allowing aircraft to push off from gates more quickly. It would also include the industry’s latest safety standards, increasing straight taxiway segments and minimizing the need for crossings.

 

• Landside development: Transformation of the airport’s vehicular and multi-modal access, prioritizing efficiency and convenience for all users. Alongside terminal buildings, frontages would be expanded to meet industry standards, providing ample space for passenger waiting, loading and unloading while minimizing walking distances. AirTrain access would be simplified, while connectivity and amenities for cyclists, pedestrians, and service vehicles would be improved. The roadway network would also be streamlined to reduce decision points and separate major flows with independent circulation for each terminal.

 

Visit EWRredevelopment.com for information regarding the new AirTrain Newark Replacement Program and other EWR redevelopment projects.