DENVER City Council approved a $US 78.9m contract on July 23 for Bombardier Transportation to supply 26 new cars for Denver International Airport’s (DIA) underground peoplemover to meet an increase in passenger traffic.

The Denver Post reports that the order comes on top of a seven-year, $US 162m operation and maintenance contract for the system that the city signed with Bombardier last year. This agrement includes components to boost the reliability of the 23-year-old peoplemover, which connects the terminal to all three concourses.

The cars are likely to be delivered in batches in 2020, with 16 set to retire cars that date from the airport’s opening in 1995, resulting in a net increase of 10 cars for the current 31-car fleet. The new cars will provide the flexibility to increase train frequency or expand each train’s capacity.