A unique piece of Disney transportation history beneath George Bush Intercontinental Airport has celebrated 45 years of moving travelers between terminals.
IAH Subway Celebrates 45 Years
The IAH Subway officially opened on August 17, 1981. Although the Houston airport operated an underground inter-terminal train beginning with its opening in 1969, that original system was replaced by the current WEDway PeopleMover designed and built by WED Transportation Systems, a division of what is now Walt Disney Imagineering.
The Houston Subway consequently became the only WED-built PeopleMover system outside Disney property—and a surviving remnant of Disney’s brief attempt to market its transportation technology to the wider world.
Disneyland introduced its original PeopleMover in 1967, using rotating tires in the track to propel its vehicles around Tomorrowland, an innovative mode of transportation called the WEDWay system, which was based in part on Disney’s Ford Magic Skyway at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
A different version utilizing linear induction motors debuted at Magic Kingdom in 1975 as the WEDway PeopleMover, now known as the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. The technology was certified by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration for potential urban transit use the following year.
From Tomorrowland to Houston
Bush Airport’s first underground train, however, predated Disney’s involvement. According to Texas Monthly, the original driverless, battery-powered train connected Terminals A and B with a surface parking lot. It traveled at approximately 5 mph but became increasingly unreliable as the airport grew.
The airport was expanding during the 1970s, passenger volume was increasing, and Terminal C was under construction. Houston therefore needed a faster and more dependable way to transport travelers around the complex.
David C. “Hoss” Robertson, an airside operations training manager regarded as Bush Airport’s unofficial historian, claims that Disney executives became interested in the airport train some time around the late construction and opening years of Walt Disney World Resort. Disney employees traveling between Florida and the company’s California headquarters frequently connected through Houston, reportedly experiencing the original train’s breakdowns and lengthy waits firsthand.
A 2007 internal airport newsletter cited by Texas Monthly recounted an especially bold proposal from an unnamed Disney executive. The executive reportedly offered to “build a train system free of charge” and guarantee 99% reliability. If it failed to meet that standard, the airport would not have to “pay a penny for the system.” The airport organized a formal bidding process for the train’s replacement not long after that. Disney submitted the lowest bid and officially won the contract in 1979.
Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were present when the system opened to the public. The characters joined Houston Mayor Jim McConn and other local leaders for the dedication, with Mickey helping to cut the ribbon outside Train 1.
Despite the Houston system’s eventual success, Disney did not develop a larger network of WEDway systems for other cities. Disney later sold its PeopleMover and monorail technology to Canadian transportation manufacturer Bombardier.
Much like its Magic Kingdom counterpart, the IAH Subway’s passenger cars do not carry conventional drive motors. Linear induction motors positioned along the guideway propel the lightweight, passive vehicles through the tunnel.
The Subway travels along an approximately two-mile underground circuit, connecting Terminals A, B, C, and D/E with the Houston Airport Marriott. The vehicles reach speeds of up to 15 mph, and a complete trip around the route takes approximately 19 minutes.
A Proven WEDWay Success
Today, maintaining the 45-year-old Subway requires skills rarely needed on modern transit systems. With replacement components no longer readily available for some of the decades-old technology, employees occasionally fabricate parts themselves.
Those efforts have allowed the Subway to continue serving hundreds of thousands of travelers each month. The anniversary report placed monthly ridership between approximately 300,000 and 400,000 passengers, with traffic increasing during busy holiday periods.
Houston Airports reported that the Subway carried more than 3.3 million passengers during 2025. More impressively, it maintained a reliability rate of 99.76% that year.
You can check out Houston’s PeopleMover in motion in this coverage from local news outlet ABC13 Houston:
For more stories about the people and ideas that shaped the history and culture around Disney Parks and beyond, join WDWNT for Wayback WED – A Fan Celebration of Disney Imagineering, taking place October 2-3, 2026, at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
The two-day event will bring together former Disney Imagineers, visionary creatives, and other industry luminaries for panels, presentations, rare concept artwork and archival footage, and opportunities to meet the people behind beloved Disney parks, attractions, resorts, shows, and parades.
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