Violet Passage No.1

Violet Passage No.1

Well chosen colors to calm any frazzled air travelers (of which there appeared to be few if any on this late Monday night in November)
making their way from the new Aero-Train system to the C-Gates of the Midfield Terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport.

The underground train system linking the main terminal with midfield terminal gates opened to passengers on January 26, 2010.
Its automated trains, operating at speeds of up to 42 miles per hour provide a faster transit than the Mobile Lounges that handled the
task from the earliest days of the airport, although those large levitating coaches continue to ferry incoming international passengers
on the scenic overland route. And while I welcome progress as much as the next air traveler, my fondness for airliners, and the faint aromas
of diesel and kerosene, and radio communication with Ground Control inherent in the Mobile Lounge experience as they trundle alongside
of taxiing heavy metal, makes me hope those stalwart coaches with the fins on top will remain in service for some time to come.
(Click on photo below if you’d like to see some Mobile Lounges)

But, arriving in plenty of time for my night departure to London, there was ample time to savor the underground experience
as well, particularly as the passage from the Aero-Train terminus to the escalators leading to the C-Gates was uncrowded
and invited a bit of photography. Indeed, not only were the colors inviting, but the passage still had that "new" aroma!

Photo + Design ©2011/2012 Steve Ember