Alstom seals deal to upgrade automated people mover system at Jeddah's KAIA

France-based global rail transport company Alstom signed a contract to upgrade the Innovia automated people mover (APM) system at the King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), Jeddah, according to a company statement.

Under the contract, Alstom will provide design, engineering, supply, integration, and testing for the system upgrade in Passenger Terminal 1. This includes adding four modern Innovia cars to the current fleet of 10 cars, upgrading signaling and communication systems, updating passenger platform doors, enhancing cybersecurity, and establishing a new control and operations room.

The company stated that the improvements and additional cars will contribute to achieving an increase of approximately 90% in system capacity compared to the current system.

KAIA has been using the Innovia APM system since 2020 under a full operation and maintenance contract with Alstom. The system is fully automated and runs without a driver. It has transported over 13 million passengers at an availability rate exceeding 99%.