Denver International Airport has returned to normal operations after urgent repairs to the airport’s intra-terminal train system were completed overnight.
Train System Restored At Denver International Airport…For Now
Chaotic scenes of thousands of passengers waiting for trains dotted headlines yesterday:
https://twitter.com/xJonNYC/status/1749831761666703736?s=20
While the shutdown may have been the most severe to date, this was not the first such occurrence. The train system has frequently broken and when it does, passengers have no easy way to travel from the security checkpoint in the Jeppesen Terminal to Terminals A, B, and C. The result: missed flights, angry customers, and needless inefficiency.
Repairs continued through the night and the train came back online with full service before dawn this morning. Hopefully, these repairs will last, but if the past is any indicator of the future, there remains a high risk this will happen again.
TRAIN TO THE GATES UPDATE: Early this morning, repairs were completed to the damaged section of the running surface of DEN’s train that runs between the terminal and concourses. As of 3:50 a.m., DEN has resumed its normal train schedule.
— Denver Int'l Airport (@DENAirport) January 24, 2024
Denver continues to experience growing pains. The airport campus is massive and the new terminal projects are beautiful. Over time, and indeed already, this airport has grown from a small Rocky Mountain hub for United and a focus city for others into a major hub.
The train system, once revolutionary but now outdated, and the chaotic security queues cry out for innovation. If Denver wants to become a world-class airport, it needs to fundamentally rethink how security is done.
If you need to avoid the train, you can go through security using the “A bridge” and then walk to Terminal A and catch a bus to Terminal B. That’s a long walk…when I stepped off my United flight from Mexico last month, it was a 12-minute walk at a very solid pace to go the other direction to access passport control facilities.
CONCLUSION
How frustrating to be caught at the airport unable to make your flight because the train system broke down. Kudos to Denver Airport for getting the train repaired and running, but these mini-meltdowns happen far too often…even once is once too many. Repairs alone are not enough: the airport must rethink how it processes passengers.
image: JonNYC / X
DEN is by far the worst airport in the US. In all aspects. What a dump.
** IAD has entered the chat. **
I was just at DEN today. Here are just a few observations from today:
– Airport is in the middle of nowhere. It is a trip to get to it from Denver/Boulder and traffic can be a huge deal
– Rental car location is horrible. Very far and you really to plan accordingly for that
– Airport design is horrible. You have security at both East and West wings. Problem is only one side has TSA Pre or Clear with Pre check so if you get to the wrong one you are done
– Clear took me today 25 minutes. The problem was not clear but the TSA bottle neck
– Once you get into the train and arrive at your terminal you may still have to walk a lot meaning more than 50 gates depending on where your flight is leaving from
– Airport desperately needs an update. Bathrooms are dated and horrible, the entire airport looks very dated and not week taken care of
– Westin hotel at the airport has been charging over $800/night
– Restaurant options DEN are abysmal . Good luck if you get there hungry
– There is not really a international area so a huge plane leaving to Europe is next to a little regional jet which means gate area will be a zoo
Overall, it is a nightmare.
DEN is my home airport and I agree with most of your points. It’s gotten to the point that the regular Pre-Check line is faster than going through Clear; not sure if I’ll renew. There is decent food on Concourse B but the lines are hideous to eat at a decent restaurant. I flew out of United’s new gates on Concourse A and there were no water fountains or bottle refilling stations . Walked about 10 minutes back to find one and had to buy a bottle of overpriced water. The signage during our “growing pains” frequently sucks. Car theft is prevalent at the airport parking lots so I have to park off site which adds an additional 30+ minutes to my travel time.
I would argue Denver is one of the best airports in the country. Food options are amazing, there are literally dozens of restaurants with great food and you can’t tell me you’ve tried many. While it’s been difficult in the past few years due to construction and a significant increase in pax volume it should be resolved soon.
Getting to Denver can be a bit of a pain but no problem to get to Boulder from 470 and express lane on 36. I never take Pena.
Rental car location is a pain, though that will change in the next few years as a new garage and people move are being built.
Have you seen the construction, security is impacted as a result but will be changing soon.
You are complaining because it’s a large airport and you have to walk? That is a problem at all large airports, there are people movers for a reason. IMO it is much better at Denver since there is always seating somewhere and space to breathe as opposed to the cramped space at many other airport gates.
DEN has a design problem that ATL lacks. It is possible to walk to the different concourses at ATL but that is not possible in DEN with a few exceptions, like concourse A.
Exactly at ATL when the plane-train breaks down you can walk from the T concourse all the way to the F concourse if necessary. Mechanicals happen trains break down they should have built a corridor for passengers to walk just like they did at ATL.
Exactly this. They need to dig a pedestrian tunnel so that there is a backup plan. Even when the trains are working they can often be overcrowded and require long waits. Give people an option.
@Ryan .. The Illuminati don’t want you taking about tunnels under DEN.
It doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as tunnels or bunkers or Freemasons.
I was there yesterday and it was a mess. For many airports (JFK, LAX, MIA for starters) a big part of why they’re terrible is because they’re really old and have had to grow while operating. When they replaced Stapleton, Denver had the opportunity to build a world-class airport from the ground up. Instead they elected to build it in. Nebraska and fail to copy even some minimal design features helpful in other airports. For instance, Denver’s layout is similar in some ways to ATL, particularly with the subway train. However, they failed to add a walking option that Atlanta has which would have solved yesterday’s problem, as most passengers would have walked to their terminal. If it weren’t for the (overcrowded) lounges and good food options, DEN would be a complete failure.
@Doug: “good food options”?? Please share with me what I am missing . I am at DEN at least once a month and can find anything decent to eat. Look at MSP, they loaded the airport with great healthy options mostly places that were already successful in the city. Restaurants are packed and they have fantastic options. DEN has nothing good in my opinion.
Timberline Steaks and Centurion Lounge are my favorite dining options.
Ok, to eat steak you need time so I would like a quicker option that is not a processed food chain. As for Centurion lounge, that is not a DEN restaurant, it is just an Amex lounge you have in any other airport. My problem with DEN is that there are so many fantastic local restaurants in Colorado and they can’t have anything decent at the airport if you want a quick meal before a flight.
Root Down (Terminal C)
Etai’s, Garbanzo, Aviator’s Club, Snooze (Terminal B)
Mercantile, Denver Central Market, (Terminal A)
Grill & Vine and Tivoli (Westin)
Just a sample of locations with quality food at fair prices.
@Santastico … As you have a backpack , I suggest you bring some snacks : (a) a pineapple , (b) an ice-cream sandwich , (c) a mango , and (d) an enchilada .
You’re from Brazil and you don’t appreciate a fantastico steak??
@Mark … Snooze has flat pancakes . Hope for a flight delay , to eat more than one flavor , and then take a few more on your flight . Nothing better than a Snooze pancake .
DEN is opening up the new Level 6 TSA Checkpoint beginning next week so that should help. But they need a better way to allow passengers to get to their gates when the train breaks down.
More DEI related incompetence.
100%
DEN is a nightmare.
Hopefully IAD and Den consider underground walkways as a backup. I know IAD is starting to rely heavily on a train system after the new C/D concourse opens and their moon buggies retire
Multiple points are already addressed:
Construction has been underway for years to update security checkpoint processing.
New trains have been ordered and will be delivered soon.
A walkway has been proposed to the remaining terminals.
New parking garage with people mover for rental cars is in progress.
Living in AZ, we are spoiled by Sky Harbor – the best airport in the US. The professionally managed City of Phoenix does an amazing job running Sky Harbor. It is clean, organized and it works. The people of the Denver area and those utilizing DIA deserve better. Do better Denver