ATLAirport Guide

The Plane Train and walking between ATL concourses

The Plane Train links every ATL concourse. ATL's own story gives a 108-second wait and no walking times. Here's how it runs and what to do if it's slow.

An empty Plane Train platform at Atlanta airport seen from low down along the closed silver doors, with no train.
An empty Plane Train platform, ATL

The Plane Train is how you cross ATL’s airfield. ATL describes it as an automated underground train that connects every concourse.

ATL has seven concourses: T, A, B, C, D, E and F. Concourse T joins the Domestic Terminal and Concourse F joins the International Terminal. A through E sit out on the airfield, and the train runs to all of them through the Transportation Mall. Our concourse map and terminals page show where each one sits, and our airlines page shows where each airline checks in.

The train also takes arriving passengers to baggage claim. ATL’s maps page says passengers can ride it from the International Terminal to the Domestic Terminal too. The other way across is the free shuttle bus, which our International Terminal shuttle page covers.

When it runs and how long you wait

When What ATL’s story says
5 a.m. to 1 a.m. 11 trains, 44 cars. If the doors close as you reach the platform, the wait is 108 seconds
1 a.m. to 5 a.m. The train used to stop for maintenance. It now runs around the clock in a two-train shuttle mode
Wednesday at 1 a.m. The only scheduled shutdown, for track maintenance

The story doesn’t say how long the Wednesday shutdown lasts. It also says the 108 seconds would drop to 90 once a west extension was finished “in a few years”. The page doesn’t say whether that happened, so the figures may be out of date. If you’re traveling overnight on a Tuesday, ask a Customer Experience Representative whether the train is running.

ATL publishes no ride time for any stop. The 108 seconds is a wait only.

You can walk, but ATL gives no distance

For connecting passengers leaving Concourse F, ATL’s FAQ names a pedestrian walkway as the alternative to the train. The FAQ says both connect with all the other concourses and the Domestic Terminal. It gives no distance or walking time. ATL’s tips page calls the train the fastest way to move through the airport, so walking suits a long layover and not a tight connection.

If the train is slow or stopped

If you’ve waited longer than the 108 seconds ATL gives, ask whether the line is running.

Customer Experience Representatives stand at the Domestic Terminal’s west crossover and in the Transportation Mall at the Plane Train. Our information desks page lists both spots.

ATL’s tips page says gates change and flights get delayed or canceled, so check your airline’s app or ATL’s flight search before you ride. Our flights page links each airline’s page, but it doesn’t show live gates. ATL’s tips page also says terminals and concourses are easy to confuse, and our Terminal N, S and I guide sorts out which letter is a terminal and which a concourse.

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