Airport rail link
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An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or shuttle bus. Advantages for the passenger include faster travel time and easy connections with other public transport whilst the airport benefits by drawing in more passengers. Additionally, authorities have benefitted from less highway and parking congestion, less pollution, and business opportunities.
History[edit]
Although airport rail links have been popular solutions in Europe and Japan for decades, only recently have links been constructed in North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, and the rest of Asia.
Some early examples of inter-city railway stations built to serve an airport include:
| Station | Country | Opened | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Mueang Station | Thailand | 1898 | Serves Don Mueang International Airport, which opened for commercial flights in 1924 |
| Berlin Schönefeld Flughafen station | Germany | 1951 | Served Berlin Schönefeld Airport, now Berlin Brandenburg Airport |
| Gatwick Airport railway station | United Kingdom | 1958 | Rebuilt to directly serve Gatwick Airport in 1958 |
| Brussels National Airport railway station | Belgium | 1958 | Serves Brussels Airport |
| Frankfurt Airport regional station | Germany | 1972 | One of two railway stations serving Frankfurt Airport |
The first rapid transit station to connect with an airport was the Berlin U-Bahn's Paradestraße station which opened in 1927 as Flughafen (Airport) and was built to provide direct access to Berlin Tempelhof Airport. However, the connection between Paradestraße and Tempelhof Airport was revoked in 1937 and the preceding station Platz der Luftbrücke was instead granted that connection and remained so until Tempelhof Airport's closure in 2008.
Other early examples of rapid transit stations located at airports include the MBTA Blue Line's Airport station which is situated at Boston's Logan International Airport and opened for service in 1952 and rebuilt in 2004, and Cleveland RTA Rapid Transit Red Line's Cleveland Hopkins International Airport station which opened in 1968 and rebuilt in 1994, although Cleveland's rapid transit is considered the first direct airport-to-downtown rapid transit line in the Western Hemisphere. Boston's Blue Line requires a short bus transfer from the airport rail station to the airport terminal.
Connection types[edit]
High-speed rail and inter-city rail[edit]
There are high-speed and inter-city railway stations at some airports allowing direct travel between the airport and other cities. This solution requires the building of new track, whether it is a newly built main line or a branch (spur) line from an existing main line.
Integration with high-speed and inter-city services has produced alliances where airlines sell air tickets that include the connecting rail service. Parts of Europe have seen integration of high-speed rail into airports, with domestic and international TGV services from Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV in Paris and ICE services from Frankfurt Airport long-distance station. Because of this, many airport railway stations have received IATA codes.
Regional rail and commuter rail[edit]
In many cases, access to airports is via a regional or commuter "airport express" train to the city centre. This solution is often used where the airport is outside the urban area and some way from the mass transit system, but a direct downtown service is required. There are various ways this can be done: it may operate on a combination of existing or newly built mainline rail track using a dedicated fleet of rolling stock designed for airport service. This solutions often has the drawback of lower frequencies (e.g. twice per hour), and often charge a premium fare higher than other services, but are more likely to have luxury features such as luggage racks, power outlets, Wi-Fi, and washrooms.
Rapid transit[edit]
For airports built within or close to the city limits, extending an urban rail network like a metro or tram to the airport allows full integration with other public transport, and seamless transport to all parts of town. Service frequency will be high, although travel time is a drawback as the services make many intermediate stops before reaching the city center and thus there may not be enough space for the baggage commonly carried by airport-bound passengers. Furthermore, luggage stowing facilities are not commonly found on rapid transit vehicles as their primary objective is to provide high-capacity transport.
Some airports, such as Heathrow Airport, are directly served by both commuter rail and rapid transit. In China, several airports are now directly served by both high-speed rail and rapid transit.
Rail to people mover[edit]
A hybrid solution adopted in some cities is a direct rail connection to an airport train station instead of to the airport itself. At the airport train station, the passenger switches to a people mover that goes to the airport terminals. While this option is commonly chosen to reduce construction costs, it is only feasible when a rail line is near the airport. Some airports, such as San Francisco International Airport, are directly served by an airport rail link to some terminals but not others. In such cases, passengers using terminals that lack a direct connection must use a people mover to access their terminal. People movers typically also serve parking lots, and sometimes airport hotels and off-site car rental locations. People movers are seen to have a higher perceived quality compared to a shuttle bus.
Rail to shuttle bus[edit]
In some cases, there is no train station directly at the airport, usually because the infrastructure on which the rail service operates makes it impractical to build such a station. When this happens, a shuttle bus is used to transport passengers between the railway station and the airport. A shuttle bus does not require specialized infrastructure to be built, and is often the preferred choice at smaller or low-cost airports. Shuttle buses may involve a wait for a transfer to the next stage of the journey and often suffer from a lower perceived quality. Thus their market shares are usually lower.
Current examples[edit]
High-speed rail and inter-city rail[edit]
Examples include Schipol Airport railway station to other Dutch cities, Zurich Airport railway station to other Swiss cities, and Daxing Airport railway station to other Chinese cities.
Regional rail and commuter rail[edit]
Examples include the RER B between Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV and Paris, the Keisei Narita Airport Line and the Narita Express between Narita International Airport and Tokyo, the Union Pearson Express to Toronto Pearson International Airport, the Leonardo Express to Rome Fiumicino Airport, and the Malpensa Express to Milan Malpensa Airport.
Rapid transit[edit]
Examples include the Line 4 between Linate Airport and Milan, the East-West Line between Changi Airport and Singapore, and the Silver Line between Dulles International Airport and Washington, D.C..
Rail to people mover[edit]
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Examples include Soekarno-Hatta International Airport via Soekarno–Hatta Airport Skytrain from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport railway station, London Luton Airport via Luton DART from Luton Airport Parkway railway station and Paris Orly Airport via Orlyval from Antony railway station.
Rail to shuttle bus[edit]
Examples include Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport via shuttle bus from Zhengding Airport railway station, Salvador Bahia Airport via shuttle bus from Aeroporto railway station and Auckland Airport via AirportLink shuttle bus from Puhinui railway station.
