N1Rotate

I answered this question earlier in thread and remdk has also explained it pretty well. In any case I will try to answer your question again in more detail:


- Remember that the terminal is a work in progress and it has a construction program extending to 2020. It has significant expansion planned over the next five years which will include doubling the number of gates, another hotel, more lounges etc..

- To help contextualise things, currently all transiting and departing passengers enter the terminal the terminal at the South Node, this is the area with the duty free, the yellow bear, hotel and lounges.

- They can't place the bus gates under the South Node as it is where a big chunk of the luggage system is situated. Placing the luggage system elsewhere to make room for the bus gates is sub-optimal, hence the most optimal location for the bus gates is in the C-concourse due to its centrality, however they can only place 10 bus gates there and need more.

- Placing the additional bus gates at the A or B concourse will sub-optimal, so the second most optimal place is the North Node. This is were the D/E Bus gates are.

- The North Node currently seems barren but by the end next year will have a large duty free / F&B section, additional set of lounges, 8 additional contact gates and second 100 room hotel. The North Node will also process connecting passengers, so passengers arriving at northern gates will clear security and enter the terminal at this point. In fact for some connections you will arrive and depart at the North Node without even getting close to the South Node (and seeing the yellow bear!). This means that for a lot of passengers the bus gates there will be closer to them than the ones at the C concourse.

- The North Node will be connected to the South Node by an automated people mover that takes less than 60 seconds to transport you between both points. This means if you are leaving Al-Mourjan you can turn left walk to the train and be at the D/E gates in no time, or you can go there straight away and use the additional lounges at that end.



- The image above shows the stations on the Automated People Mover tracks. The two tracks fork at the Norh Node where they will extend into Concourse D and E when it is expanded with a station at each of the ends of Concourse D and E.

- The expansion of Concourses D+E is being re-designed by Foster + Partners with construction planned to complete in 2020, later than planned with the original design. Concourses D and E once complete will almost double the number of gates and in turn process more passengers through the North Node, making the location of the bus gates there make even more sense.




I hope all is clear now