Riding the rails between downtown areas and the airport is becoming a reality for more groups. A growing number of rail links are in the works that will connect passengers from the terminals to a regional metro-rail system.

• The Central Link, a 16-mile line running between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac International Airport, is expected to launch soon. Its airport station is scheduled to open in December.
• A five-mile rail connection to link downtown Salt Lake City to the airport is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2012.
• A 23-mile extension of the Washington, D.C. region’s Metro line is being built to connect to Washington Dulles International Airport.
  It’s one of the largest construction projects in the capital. The completion date has not been determined.
• Funding was approved in June for a 3.2-mile people-mover that will connect Bay Area Rapid Transit’s Coliseum station to Oakland [Calif]. International Airport. The mover will replace the current bus connection and is expected to come online in 2013.
• Miami-Dade Transit broke ground earlier this year on a rail extension from its Earlington Heights station, which is the nearest stop to Miami International Airport. The rail line will connect to a ground transportation hub that is currently being built next to the airport. Both are scheduled to be completed in 2012.
• Phoenix Sky Harbor’s Sky Train, a people-mover that connects to a nearby light rail station, will open in 2012. The city’s metro line opened last December.