MAY 2019 | MANE RAIL & INFRASTRUCTURE | 11
darting ahead
London Luton Airport Limited and Luton Borough Council are investing £225 million in a Direct Air-Rail Transit (Luton DART) system which will transport passengers between Luton Airport Parkway station and London Luton Airport.
The DART is being developed to improve passenger journey time and connectivity to and from the airport using a modern, sustainable and efficient system. The DART will speed travellers from Luton Airport Parkway station to the terminal of London Luton in well under four minutes.
Currently, the mode of transport that passengers use is a shuttle bus. The reliability and journey time of this can be affected by traffic congestion which is difficult to predict in advance. These issues have led to stressful and delayed journeys to the airport for passengers.
The DART is scheduled to open in 2021, passengers will be able to travel between St Pancras and London Luton Airport in just 30 minutes using the fastest trains and seamless Luton DART transfer. The DART will be a fully automated and driverless system, approximately 2.1km in length. The new station for the route will be located at Bartlett Square, on the north-east side of the existing rail lines. The DART will be fully operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a cable-driven system which is energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Its purpose is to transform the experience to those travelling to the airport by rail and encourage more people to do so, enhancing the airport’s already impressive environmental track record and helping to reduce congestion on the roads.
The Luton DART complements the airport operator’s recent £160m transformation programme to deliver a truly world-class passenger experience at London Luton Airport. Back in December 2018, the three year £160 transformation officially opened at Luton airport.
The airport said the upgrade was the “biggest” in its 80-year history and would increase capacity by 50% allowing it to welcome 18 million passengers by 2020. The upgrade includes 30 new shops, a boarding pier and more boarding gates. It also includes over 1,000 new seats, free Wi-Fi and an expanded security search area.
10 | MANE RAIL & INFRASTRUCTURE | MAY 2019