The San Francisco area has the BART system which is Bay Area Rapid Transit. I remember that the city of Fresno, California was going to install a rapid transit system but decided against it because of the name. The city of Seattle has an area called South Lake Union and the new line there was named the “SLUT”- South Lake Union Transit. The promotional campaign used the tag line of ‘Ride the SLUT’. It was ended early because of complaints from residents. Have a great day everyone!
Fresno's airport was called the Fresno Air Terminal and it still has IATA code FAT. Stories of agents getting slapped when applying FAT tags to people's baggage have been around for decades.
Oh wow! And I always thought the Regional Bus and Rail Company of Ticino had the worst possible abbreviation (in Italian it's Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi SA, or in short and on their buses and trains, FART).
Seattle was supposed to be "South Lake Union Trolley", which got switched to "South Lake Union Streetcar" and is now "Seattle Streetcar- South Lake Union Line"
I used the dart on 27th March. Cost per person £4.90 as opposed to the previous bus system of £2.80. To be honest the bus placed you nearer to the terminal than the Dart does. A group of 4 people worked out the cost for them to travel on the Dart. £4.90 × 4 = £19.60. The taxi parked outside the station charged £12 to drop the group at the airport. Let's get real Dart. £3 or £3.50 is a more realistic price to pay.
@@peteradams5857 I guess... But the road isn't really suited for it, though not that many airports even allow you to walk forcing you to use dedicated services (in my city it's just a regular city bus with the exact same fare as in the rest of the city, but a lot of airports only provide you with some private "express" services which can double or triple the cost of regular fare. That's where those anti-monopoly organizations should pay their attention rather than forcing this Microsoft/Activision drama...)
I love that this is finally open, just a bit disappointed at the cost of the ticket. But it's definitely better than the bus which could often be overcrowded. As a regular user of Luton Airport, and always using the train to get there from Flitwick, the Dart will make my life, and many others much easier. Now just to get step free access at Flitwick! Promised but not yet delivered!!
The ticket price is significantly cheaper when bought as part of a national rail ticket. The high price of the single fare is to avoid car drivers from parking in Luton instead of the official airport car parks
@@asdaneedsfunds Do you know if you can get the same through ticket discount using contactless card payment? Or do you have to buy a paper ticket? I can't figure it out online
Also, one fact that many sources have been saying, is that this service will actually be one of the most expensive "rail" systems in Europe, and the most expensive in the UK, at £3.95 per mile (Obviously costing £4.90 total to ride.) - It certainly looks like a very impressive system though!
Yes, but as others have already said in the comments this pricing strategy is actually very clever. It is to dissuade people parking their car at Luton Airport Parkway station and then taking the DART to the airport, instead of parking in an airport car park. The DART fare is included in train tickets provided your destination is Luton Airport and NOT Luton Airport Parkway. Its a rare case when the cost of public transport is actually planned to not in any way reduce ridership.
£4.90 is sheer extortion given it's less than a mile and a half...doesn't actually go to the terminal (you still have to walk all the way along the concourse)...and most other airports provide this service for free. It may be "more convenient" than the shuttle bus that was already be in operation...but that was half the price. Then again, Luton Airport charge five quid to drop off at the "express drop off" which is still a 350 metre walk to the terminal building, unlike, say Heathrow, Doncaster, Stansted, Birmingham etc which are right outside. So at least they have previous for this attitude.
I live in Luton and actually worked on the DART. I managed the laying of the track. It was a great project and great to see it's finally being put to good use.
A similar cable car system is installed for the Air-Rail Link at Birmingham airport, connecting Birmingham International train station to the airport itself. Its free for the public and passenger transit through an area around ticket hall. The car is significantly smaller than the new DART though.
You have free travel between the terminals at Heathrow on rail and tube. Gatwick provides a people mover to the north terminal at no extra cost. I think it's short sited for Luton to make people extra for it.
It will cost £4.90 one way for a 1.4 mile journey. This has to be one of the most expensive shuttle links. The bus used to be free and the Birmingham airport shuttle system is free.
Hi Geoff, I travelled on the very first public "train" of the Luton DART on 10th March 2023 which was free of charge on that day. I must say it is very impressive, the way it climbs up to a rather dizzy height across a link road to the M1 before plunging into a tunnel to arrive at the sub-surface airport terminal. It did, however, open about 20 minutes late on the day, some people were growing restless until some wag cried out: "don't moan about waiting 20 minutes for this, we've got to wait 20 years for HS2!" Thanks very much for a great and informative video. Kind regards, David, Crouch End, N8.
Hi Geoff! Here in Toronto, our airport has a very similar train. It's called the LINK train (the capital letters don't stand for anything, by the way). It runs just like the Luton DART - remotely controlled with cables underneath. It goes from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3, then on to a nearby parking garage. This train is free, can hold roughly the same amount of people both standing and sitting, and there's trains every 4-8 minutes (depending on whether the hours are peak or not). It takes about 8 minutes including stops from one end to the other. You're never exposed to the elements either. As usual, another great video!
Ahh, a trip to Luton. What a joy. You can now get to Britain's worst airport more quickly. I love the moniker of Britains Most Expensive Rail Journey. Luton Airport Authority just keep getting it right. Oh by the way, good luck getting a taxi either to there or when trying to escape. Lovely stuff.
Being from Ireland the DART to me has always been the ones you get in Dublin which stands for Dublin Area Rapid Transit but I wasn't aware that there are other places that also call their urban transit networks the Dart also its very surprising to me
Worked near Luton Airport Parkway for 2 years, travelling from London, that was 5 years ago and it is shocking it has taken this long to open. Looks great though!
Like many in the comments below, having done the awkward bussing from Luton Airport Parkway station to the airport quite a few times, I certainly welcome this DART - not that price though! Really wish it had been be free much like the Birmingham International Airport (BHX) shuttle between National Rail and the airport. Surprisingly, I've also lived in Dublin and have enjoyed the - much more reasonably priced - DART for part of my commute :)
Reminds me of the Mini Metro in Frankfurt, Germany. Connects the Airport-Trainstation to a car park. It’s way smaller but runs in a similar way and you can also see the wheels turning! It’s a fun little thing to do when you have to change at that station :)
There’s actually quite a few similar systems across Europe. Here in Italy, I can think of Pisa Airport and Bologna Airport. In Venice, a people mover connects a P+R facility on the mainland to Venice proper. In Milan, a people mover connects the metro network with San Raffaele, a huge healthcare centre. The most impressive of all is probably Perugia, whose MiniMetro system works like a real metro with several stations across a long route, that starts in the modern suburbs and ends -inside the hill- in the hilltop medieval centre.
Geoff I'm not sure if you're aware, but EMR are branding some of their connect EMU's as "Luton Airport Express". I only noticed this the other day, when travelling home to Wellingborough. These are the trains that run between London and Corby every 30 mins and run non-stop between Luton Airport Parkway and St Pancras in about 22-25 mins. Problem is, while these EMU's have a very smart vinyl wrap scheme on them, they were promised to be refurbished when they started operating as EMR Connect over two years ago. In a comfy 2+2 seating configuration, and extra luggage storage for airport passengers. However it's still in the old tired and worn out 16 year old, high density 2+3 seating, it inherited from Greater Anglia.
Was lucky enough to go on a few months ago as part of a council day out, great service from Luton parkway and will cut journey time down from St Pancras - looking forward to watching later on
I find it ironic that they're talking about the "sustainability" of an airport. And it's a shame it's not free, at £4.90 it's also double the cost of the existing bus transfer available (which is priced at £2.40). But I'm all for the improved accessibility that this has brought with it!
This does suggest that the buses will remain as a cheaper alternative... A question I've asked in the comments which Geoff doesn't answer in the video does this replace the buses... I imagine from the price it doesn't
@@danm4320which sounds fair to me. That way I can more easily compare the cost when planning my trip. Now I have to mentally add £10 to every Luton fair.
@4:43 a combined ticket still costs an extra £5 for the 2.1km journey. Did you ask the management why it is the most expensively railway in the UK, and whether it will actually encourage more people to take the train?
Nice to see it open. I marked out some of the track in the tunnel and in the piled cutting (only for a few weeks - but long enough to appreciate the effort that had been put in by everyone else). Impressive.
Landed into luton tonight (10/3). Genuinely had reason to use it. It was shut at 10:50pm and people were cramming onto the newly upgraded name of the “DART replacement shuttle bus”. Using the buses that the DART should have been replacing in the first place. The irony.
As someone who has flown into Luton in order to visit London on many occasions? I am pleased to see this development. Before I have frequently chosen to walk, suitcase and all, down the hill to the station as the buses were usually too full or not frequent enough. I am a railway worker, so I hope my 'priv' discount works on the full ticket from luton airport to London terminals. But even if it doesn't, a fiver or so down to the parkway at regular, convenient intervals? That still works for me :)
On a tangential note, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the local transit agency has a nonprofit DARTS service (Disabled and Aged Regional Transportation System) that provides a critical van/bus service connecting people in the region who can't effectively use other modes of transportation due to proximity and/or capability. Not at all the same as Luton, but I thought it was an important point for the goal of ensuring accessibility for all.
Hi Geoff, it is not actually free for the locals. They give a 50% concessionary discount for the locals. Also, looking at their website, the price seems to be £2.40 for a single. Maybe the prices are different if you buy at the stations? Also, if you didn't know, there is a bus that does the exact same journey and only costs £1.50 for a single.
@@geofftech2 I am indeed! I have put my information through. It said I will get a reply in 3 working days. As for the bus, there are 2 services currently running. One is the official airport to railway transfer which costs £2.40 each way. The other is the local bus service which is £1.50 each way. The local services have the same frequency as the official transfer service but just start at 6:30 am (vs 5 am for the official transfer service) and finish at 11:30 pm (vs 1 am for the official transfer service)
Problem is you can use contactless to Luton Airport Parkway but need to pay for this separately. You did also for the bus, but that was still usually cheaper than a paper ticket. With this I'm not so sure.
As a person who spent decades living in London Luton was the only airport of the London area I never got to use and to be fair that is something I dont lose sleep over
I'm currently in a similar position but in a few days I'll be using Luton for the first time. I was dreading the experience but somehow the knowledge that there is this new link makes it all seem worthwhile. 😁
I’m in Dallas and have DART. Dallas Area Rapid Transit. And even more amusing, our primary livery color is yellow! I love your videos! I can’t wait till I can visit the UK and explore all of it by rail!
You mentioned my local train - the DART in Dallas! Hello from North Texas. Actually, my local train is the Denton A Train. It couldn't be called the Denton Area Rapid Transit, for obvious conflicting reasons with the Dallas Dart rail. (Plus, there is nothing Rapid about the Denton A Train, lol. ) BTW, I have paper maps of both to send you if you are interested and still collecting transit maps. The front of the Luton DART reminds me of the Skylink "train" at DFW Airoprt. You can stand at the front and pretend to be the driver. (yes, UA-cam, I know the Skylink is not a train since it runs on tires.)
The impressive bridge was put in place over a weekend - it’s been quite exciting seeing the test vehicles running over the past few months. And for train-averse folk (who probably aren’t watching 😀), parking at Luton Airport Parkway is way cheaper than any of the airport car parks.
@@CT_97 mine too. Drop off is appalling, the point I was trying to make is that parking at LAP then using public transport, bus or DART, is way cheaper than the airport parking. If you are local, either get dropped off at Mid Stay and walk, or get the free shuttle that goes to car hire and long stay.
Are you high lol? £4.90 for that!? That's absolutely scandalous. The money invested in this could have run the shuttle busses, for free, for years! It's a complete rip-off.
@@leothompson2777 I am aware that the price is ridiculous but it depends how desperate people are for taking it, end of the day yes it a game changer but at a cost.
You looked and sounded just like I feel whenever I have to go to Luton Airport. Don't worry, it's the sort of place most people struggle to enthuse over.
4.95? What a cheek! No fee for taking the shuttle within Heathrow! Did they cancel the original shuttle bus? It didn't take much longer than Dart and cost only 2GBP. When booking your thru ticket check to see how much extra you're paying for the Dart.
As I remember, Birmingham airport connected with the NEC, using the same type of free train in the late 1970's. There actually a type of funicular train, due to the cable.
Worth noting that it was originally a Maglev (magnetic levitation) system. Also it was introduced in the 1980s when the new airport terminal building was built to replace the original on the opposite side of the runway.
@@marcelwiszowaty1751 Indeed, and I believe it was the first commercial maglev in the world. At the time it was thought it would be the first of many. It wasn't! It ran for eleven years before being replaced with the cable hauled system in use today. Incidentally, I've been on the Shanghai maglev which was very impressive.
@@egpx Yes, of course, although I hadn't remembered that it ran for that many years. I find the current system smoother and there's more capacity with it's two-car units.
There are at least three transit agencies in the US which are known as DART: Dallas (Texas) Area Rapid Transit, Des Moines (Iowa) Area Regional Transit and Delaware Transit Corporation, which brands it's bus services as DART for it's predecessor agency, the Delaware Administration for Regional Transit.
Welcome to the UK = you have to pay £4.90 to get from the airport station to the airport. The trick here is to call the station "Luton Airport Parkway" not "Luton Airport" which basically means you get to NEAR the airport, not at it - so you then have to pay a bit more to get to the check-in desk! Still, nice shuttle, and as ever great video! The top transport geek is Geoff!
Welcome to Luton Geoff, my hometown. While it has it's downsides (like most other places) it also has the quaint Luton Park Museum, Stockwood Park and Luton Hoo as seen in films like Eyes Wide Shut and Four Weddings and a Funeral!
It's almost scarily similar to a lot of airport transfer AirTrain systems at American airports. Newark and JFK in particular have systems that run almost identically, direct access from train station, costs around a fiver to ride, no-driver operation. One big difference is that the Newark Airport Amtrak/New Jersey Transit station isn't accessible from the street, you can only access it from getting off the train. Interesting system and this new one at Luton will definitely be more convenient than the bus, although shame it's a bit pricey
I used the bus to the Subway to avoid paying the Airtrain at both JFK and Newark last week. The NYC bus worked out as free due to free transfer to Subway and the NJ bus was $1.60 then $2.75 for the PATH. The Airtrain, due to currency fluctuation, is actually around £6.90 at present.
The Newark Airtrain is being replaced soon too. Probably with a system identical to JFK, but the monorail is reaching the end of its 25-year service life.
wooow this is so different now. I worked in the covid testing lab at this airport January to October 2021. Although my lab was on the carpark we of course went into the terminal to grab food. At that that time the Luton airport parkway rail station just looked very crappy, with construction sites everywhere...guess now most of those crap are gone now haha
In our county (King County, WA, USA), we have DART - Dial-A-Ride Transit. It is our combination of fixed route and on-call bus service. I think that acronym is fairly common in the US. Our system is small buses on a fixed route, but if you call the bus will deviate a little and come pick you up at your house or business.
Now my only proplem is that the flights from NI to Luton go from Belfast International which has no rail connection despite fully serviceable railway line running just outside the perimeter fench.
I was lucky enough to be involved with the emergency procedure training and trials of this with the local ambulance service. Got to have a ride on the dart from the terminal to the station and back again.
About time! It always seemed odd to arrive at Luton Airport Parkway and have to go hunting for a bus which then gets stuck in traffic. Tbh I gave up flying from there years ago as the train station seemed so creepy in the evenings; I used to be the only one there and trains to anywhere other than London seemed few and far between.
I had the good fortune (sic) to be in Luton on 27/03/23 and to take a run on the DART. It is certainly an impressive bit of new infrastructure. The ticket machines are pretty straightforward though it might be easier for passengers (prefer that to customers) if the option ‘Luton Airport’ was supplemented by one saying ‘DART’ as that is the word being used to differentiate it from the former bus service. Passengers waiting for a DART have no indication which platform will be used for the next departure if the platforms are vacant. Not a big deal except that on arrival the DART doors open on one side only but once passengers have alighted the other side opens too by which time some passengers, I observed, had made their way round to the other side. On arrival the at airport end, it was a wet, windswept walk across to the terminal - some better protection than that afforded by the existing canopies would be worthwhile. In the airport terminal there was nothing to direct passengers to DART per se just a sign to the trains. I’d have thought that, after spending so much on the DART, the airport would have made maximum effort to make its existence clear. The airport website seems to have the DART well publicised now though why at midday it was showing ‘next trains’ at 23.30 the previous day was a mystery. The rail map is misleading as it implies that southbound Thameslink trains go solely to Brighton whereas, in fact, they also go to Sutton, Orpington etc. Overall, looks like a much better option than bus transfer so well done to those who conceived it and enabled delivery of the scheme.
I flew from Luton to Girona in 1973 and from memory, the airport {at both ends} were less than basic. We came back two weeks' later and have never been in a plane since...
I have just booked seats on a flight out of Luton for this summer, and I will be arriving by train. Thanks for the advice to buy tickets all the way to the airport, not just to the parkway.
I tried to take a train to Luton Airport Parkway a few years ago, the driver failed to stop and carried on straight to St Pancras, and I missed my flight! Calling it an overshoot on the PA system when they didn't even slowdown made me chuckle.
So I live in St Albans and have been waiting for DART to open for a year or so now. Yet when it happens I learn about it on UA-cam, not on any of the local Facebook groups or similar. Maybe it's not such a big deal for most local residents? I understand that the bus service is being withdrawn so the train fare to Luton Airport for my wife & I is now going to be even more when the higher DART fare is bundled in. Hardly any point in paying a tenner for a short trip to St Albans station by taxi, dragging our cases over to Platform 3, etc. when for a few quid more we might as well book a fixed rate cab to take us straight to the drop-off, next to the DART exit/entrance.
Just a small correction that tickets (up to 4) will be half price for Luton residents, not free. At least that's what the website currently states alongside what I've seen on Twitter.
The San Francisco area has the BART system which is Bay Area Rapid Transit. I remember that the city of Fresno, California was going to install a rapid transit system but decided against it because of the name. The city of Seattle has an area called South Lake Union and the new line there was named the “SLUT”- South Lake Union Transit. The promotional campaign used the tag line of ‘Ride the SLUT’. It was ended early because of complaints from residents.
Have a great day everyone!
Fresno's airport was called the Fresno Air Terminal and it still has IATA code FAT. Stories of agents getting slapped when applying FAT tags to people's baggage have been around for decades.
Oh wow! And I always thought the Regional Bus and Rail Company of Ticino had the worst possible abbreviation (in Italian it's Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi SA, or in short and on their buses and trains, FART).
Seattle was supposed to be "South Lake Union Trolley", which got switched to "South Lake Union Streetcar" and is now "Seattle Streetcar- South Lake Union Line"
There was a bus line from Solano County to downtown San Francisco named Fairfield Area Rapid Transit and proudly carried the initials on their bus(s).
Luton Airport Rapid Delivery?
Luton Airport Direct Access?
Finally, Luton Airport Surface Transit?
"It's slightly disconcerting just looking into darkness."
Welcome to Luton, Geoff. 😱
Literally and metaphorically.
Man up you little sissies.. no wonder why the UK is falling like a turd in the bowl.
I used the dart on 27th March. Cost per person £4.90 as opposed to the previous bus system of £2.80. To be honest the bus placed you nearer to the terminal than the Dart does. A group of 4 people worked out the cost for them to travel on the Dart. £4.90 × 4 = £19.60. The taxi parked outside the station charged £12 to drop the group at the airport. Let's get real Dart. £3 or £3.50 is a more realistic price to pay.
They should build the fares into the NR ticketing system, effectively treating the airport as a station
exactly it was suppose to REDUCE the cost, not increase it
The more realistic price is £0. And actually let people who don't want to use anything WALK to the airport
@@Psevdonim123 you can do that though. Nothing stopping you walking into the airport via Vauxhall Way or Eaton Green Road
@@peteradams5857 I guess... But the road isn't really suited for it, though not that many airports even allow you to walk forcing you to use dedicated services (in my city it's just a regular city bus with the exact same fare as in the rest of the city, but a lot of airports only provide you with some private "express" services which can double or triple the cost of regular fare. That's where those anti-monopoly organizations should pay their attention rather than forcing this Microsoft/Activision drama...)
Geoff going to Luton so we don’t have to, what a king
I love that this is finally open, just a bit disappointed at the cost of the ticket. But it's definitely better than the bus which could often be overcrowded. As a regular user of Luton Airport, and always using the train to get there from Flitwick, the Dart will make my life, and many others much easier. Now just to get step free access at Flitwick! Promised but not yet delivered!!
The ticket price is significantly cheaper when bought as part of a national rail ticket. The high price of the single fare is to avoid car drivers from parking in Luton instead of the official airport car parks
Hello fellow Flitwickian! 👍
@@Croz89 Unfortunately making it free here would cause a massive influx of car drivers to park all over South Luton, so it's a bad idea
@@asdaneedsfunds Do you know if you can get the same through ticket discount using contactless card payment? Or do you have to buy a paper ticket? I can't figure it out online
@@Skalekul thanks for the info!
Also, one fact that many sources have been saying, is that this service will actually be one of the most expensive "rail" systems in Europe, and the most expensive in the UK, at £3.95 per mile (Obviously costing £4.90 total to ride.) - It certainly looks like a very impressive system though!
Oof, pain :/
Yes, but as others have already said in the comments this pricing strategy is actually very clever. It is to dissuade people parking their car at Luton Airport Parkway station and then taking the DART to the airport, instead of parking in an airport car park. The DART fare is included in train tickets provided your destination is Luton Airport and NOT Luton Airport Parkway. Its a rare case when the cost of public transport is actually planned to not in any way reduce ridership.
Very true, I will consider to stop using Luton for the cost of DART
Around the same price as the Pisamover.
@@cameronallan5624 and those tickets are only £2.40 more than to Parkway.
£4.90 is sheer extortion given it's less than a mile and a half...doesn't actually go to the terminal (you still have to walk all the way along the concourse)...and most other airports provide this service for free. It may be "more convenient" than the shuttle bus that was already be in operation...but that was half the price.
Then again, Luton Airport charge five quid to drop off at the "express drop off" which is still a 350 metre walk to the terminal building, unlike, say Heathrow, Doncaster, Stansted, Birmingham etc which are right outside. So at least they have previous for this attitude.
Even priced as it was, I'd save the bus fare and walk.
and dropped you outside the terminal entrance.
I live in Luton and actually worked on the DART. I managed the laying of the track. It was a great project and great to see it's finally being put to good use.
A similar cable car system is installed for the Air-Rail Link at Birmingham airport, connecting Birmingham International train station to the airport itself. Its free for the public and passenger transit through an area around ticket hall. The car is significantly smaller than the new DART though.
Travelling from Luton in May. Perfect timing. £4.90 seems steep though
Almost as steep as that gradient!
Yeah seems an insane price. Ah well.
Most expensive ' rail ' journey per distance in the UK.. Good old Luton Airrrrport
I can't imagine there are many people actually paying that fare with locals going free and plane travellers getting tickets going on further anyway.
You have free travel between the terminals at Heathrow on rail and tube. Gatwick provides a people mover to the north terminal at no extra cost.
I think it's short sited for Luton to make people extra for it.
It will cost £4.90 one way for a 1.4 mile journey. This has to be one of the most expensive shuttle links. The bus used to be free and the Birmingham airport shuttle system is free.
You deserve a medal for surviving your trip to Luton.
🥇
Hi Geoff, I travelled on the very first public "train" of the Luton DART on 10th March 2023 which was free of charge on that day. I must say it is very impressive, the way it climbs up to a rather dizzy height across a link road to the M1 before plunging into a tunnel to arrive at the sub-surface airport terminal. It did, however, open about 20 minutes late on the day, some people were growing restless until some wag cried out: "don't moan about waiting 20 minutes for this, we've got to wait 20 years for HS2!" Thanks very much for a great and informative video. Kind regards, David, Crouch End, N8.
Hi Geoff! Here in Toronto, our airport has a very similar train.
It's called the LINK train (the capital letters don't stand for anything, by the way). It runs just like the Luton DART - remotely controlled with cables underneath. It goes from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3, then on to a nearby parking garage. This train is free, can hold roughly the same amount of people both standing and sitting, and there's trains every 4-8 minutes (depending on whether the hours are peak or not). It takes about 8 minutes including stops from one end to the other. You're never exposed to the elements either.
As usual, another great video!
Only thing I'd add is that our trains in Toronto aren't open between cars; once you get in one, you're stuck.
Ahh, a trip to Luton. What a joy. You can now get to Britain's worst airport more quickly. I love the moniker of Britains Most Expensive Rail Journey.
Luton Airport Authority just keep getting it right. Oh by the way, good luck getting a taxi either to there or when trying to escape. Lovely stuff.
Being from Ireland the DART to me has always been the ones you get in Dublin which stands for Dublin Area Rapid Transit but I wasn't aware that there are other places that also call their urban transit networks the Dart also its very surprising to me
Love Dublin, Love Ireland
Worked near Luton Airport Parkway for 2 years, travelling from London, that was 5 years ago and it is shocking it has taken this long to open. Looks great though!
Like many in the comments below, having done the awkward bussing from Luton Airport Parkway station to the airport quite a few times, I certainly welcome this DART - not that price though! Really wish it had been be free much like the Birmingham International Airport (BHX) shuttle between National Rail and the airport. Surprisingly, I've also lived in Dublin and have enjoyed the - much more reasonably priced - DART for part of my commute :)
I love airport trains!
They are very useful instead of walking.
Perfect video as always!
Hi Rex lol
£4.90 for a 1.25 mile journey means some would rather walk.
hi lol
@@bw1376 *cries in JFK*
@bw1376 why isn't it free wtf like most airports are or at least something cheap like £1
Reminds me of the Mini Metro in Frankfurt, Germany. Connects the Airport-Trainstation to a car park. It’s way smaller but runs in a similar way and you can also see the wheels turning! It’s a fun little thing to do when you have to change at that station :)
There’s actually quite a few similar systems across Europe. Here in Italy, I can think of Pisa Airport and Bologna Airport. In Venice, a people mover connects a P+R facility on the mainland to Venice proper. In Milan, a people mover connects the metro network with San Raffaele, a huge healthcare centre. The most impressive of all is probably Perugia, whose MiniMetro system works like a real metro with several stations across a long route, that starts in the modern suburbs and ends -inside the hill- in the hilltop medieval centre.
Geoff
I'm not sure if you're aware, but EMR are branding some of their connect EMU's as "Luton Airport Express". I only noticed this the other day, when travelling home to Wellingborough.
These are the trains that run between London and Corby every 30 mins and run non-stop between Luton Airport Parkway and St Pancras in about 22-25 mins.
Problem is, while these EMU's have a very smart vinyl wrap scheme on them, they were promised to be refurbished when they started operating as EMR Connect over two years ago. In a comfy 2+2 seating configuration, and extra luggage storage for airport passengers.
However it's still in the old tired and worn out 16 year old, high density 2+3 seating, it inherited from Greater Anglia.
We have DART here in Dallas, Texas, and I used to be a bus operator, and light rail train operator with them!
"3 : 36"
"Yes, but it's snowing".
Quality dialogue 😏
Was lucky enough to go on a few months ago as part of a council day out, great service from Luton parkway and will cut journey time down from St Pancras - looking forward to watching later on
A council day out to Luton.... Guess cuts mean they can no longer take people to the seaside....
@@Jennyeq haha yeah not too many beaches in Luton I’m afraid
I find it ironic that they're talking about the "sustainability" of an airport. And it's a shame it's not free, at £4.90 it's also double the cost of the existing bus transfer available (which is priced at £2.40). But I'm all for the improved accessibility that this has brought with it!
This does suggest that the buses will remain as a cheaper alternative... A question I've asked in the comments which Geoff doesn't answer in the video does this replace the buses... I imagine from the price it doesn't
Something has to pay for it. If not in your fair, than in your airport fees when you buy your plane ticket...
@@danm4320which sounds fair to me. That way I can more easily compare the cost when planning my trip. Now I have to mentally add £10 to every Luton fair.
This would have been SO convenient about a year ago when I was there. But I'm prob coming back this year anyway so I can't wait to try it out!
This is going to put Luton on the map! A most acceptable start to the weekend! Keeping them on their toes Geoff! Nice
Just like Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook.
It's 20 years too late and has incurred a massive debt that will never be paid off.
@@byteme9718 yeah agree with that
Like a Simpsons episode, what we need is a monorail lol
Map of place to avoid.
Live, Laugh, Luton! (I'm so sorry)
@4:43 a combined ticket still costs an extra £5 for the 2.1km journey. Did you ask the management why it is the most expensively railway in the UK, and whether it will actually encourage more people to take the train?
Nice to see it open. I marked out some of the track in the tunnel and in the piled cutting (only for a few weeks - but long enough to appreciate the effort that had been put in by everyone else). Impressive.
Landed into luton tonight (10/3). Genuinely had reason to use it. It was shut at 10:50pm and people were cramming onto the newly upgraded name of the “DART replacement shuttle bus”. Using the buses that the DART should have been replacing in the first place. The irony.
As someone who has flown into Luton in order to visit London on many occasions?
I am pleased to see this development.
Before I have frequently chosen to walk, suitcase and all, down the hill to the station as the buses were usually too full or not frequent enough.
I am a railway worker, so I hope my 'priv' discount works on the full ticket from luton airport to London terminals.
But even if it doesn't, a fiver or so down to the parkway at regular, convenient intervals? That still works for me :)
On a tangential note, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the local transit agency has a nonprofit DARTS service (Disabled and Aged Regional Transportation System) that provides a critical van/bus service connecting people in the region who can't effectively use other modes of transportation due to proximity and/or capability. Not at all the same as Luton, but I thought it was an important point for the goal of ensuring accessibility for all.
Tucson, AZ has s service very similar to that called the Sun Van.
Fitting, given I get the sense Luton is the Hamilton of England
£4.90 is an utter disgrace, and we weren’t told the DART would be so extortionate when it started construction. Simply appalling in my opinion.
You can buy them included in national rail tickets for less than £10 in some cases
Hi Geoff, it is not actually free for the locals. They give a 50% concessionary discount for the locals. Also, looking at their website, the price seems to be £2.40 for a single. Maybe the prices are different if you buy at the stations?
Also, if you didn't know, there is a bus that does the exact same journey and only costs £1.50 for a single.
@@geofftech2 I am indeed! I have put my information through. It said I will get a reply in 3 working days.
As for the bus, there are 2 services currently running. One is the official airport to railway transfer which costs £2.40 each way. The other is the local bus service which is £1.50 each way. The local services have the same frequency as the official transfer service but just start at 6:30 am (vs 5 am for the official transfer service) and finish at 11:30 pm (vs 1 am for the official transfer service)
Problem is you can use contactless to Luton Airport Parkway but need to pay for this separately. You did also for the bus, but that was still usually cheaper than a paper ticket. With this I'm not so sure.
As a person who spent decades living in London Luton was the only airport of the London area I never got to use and to be fair that is something I dont lose sleep over
This comment made me laugh so much more than it should have 😃
I'm currently in a similar position but in a few days I'll be using Luton for the first time. I was dreading the experience but somehow the knowledge that there is this new link makes it all seem worthwhile. 😁
@@rogerfoster1201 Maybe not now but then it seemed to be the most difficult of all the London airports to get to
I’m in Dallas and have DART. Dallas Area Rapid Transit. And even more amusing, our primary livery color is yellow! I love your videos! I can’t wait till I can visit the UK and explore all of it by rail!
Definitely makes rail more appealing to get to Luton Airport!
You mentioned my local train - the DART in Dallas! Hello from North Texas. Actually, my local train is the Denton A Train. It couldn't be called the Denton Area Rapid Transit, for obvious conflicting reasons with the Dallas Dart rail. (Plus, there is nothing Rapid about the Denton A Train, lol. ) BTW, I have paper maps of both to send you if you are interested and still collecting transit maps. The front of the Luton DART reminds me of the Skylink "train" at DFW Airoprt. You can stand at the front and pretend to be the driver. (yes, UA-cam, I know the Skylink is not a train since it runs on tires.)
To your question about DART: Yes, Dallas has the DART. Full name is Dallas Area Rapid Transit (although the "Rapid Transit" part is debatable).
The impressive bridge was put in place over a weekend - it’s been quite exciting seeing the test vehicles running over the past few months. And for train-averse folk (who probably aren’t watching 😀), parking at Luton Airport Parkway is way cheaper than any of the airport car parks.
True, but the dropoff charge is absurd, Luton is my local airport.
@@CT_97 mine too. Drop off is appalling, the point I was trying to make is that parking at LAP then using public transport, bus or DART, is way cheaper than the airport parking. If you are local, either get dropped off at Mid Stay and walk, or get the free shuttle that goes to car hire and long stay.
In the San Francisco CA area, there's Bay Area Rapid Transit: BART.
Hello from Dallas Texas, Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
£290m for a 1.25-mile shuttle service that costs £4.90 a trip. Expensive to build. Expensive to use.
Why on earth did it cost almost 1/3 of a billion pounds? Smells like corruption to me...
Expensive per minute ouch
It’s alright folks, it’s alright, it was tax payer funded, so it’s free money really.
@@AVV_Beats Will be interesting to see how many centuries elapse before it pays for itself
@@AVV_BeatsThis is Luton
Fantastic video I remember see this on testing when we went to luton Airport on a school trip to look round. It's nice to see its now up and running
Even though there’s no driver you would think they would install windscreen wipers on the end windscreens.
Love Luton Airport, it's very handy. Looking forward to trying the DART. Good job they decided against calling it The Fast Air-Rail Transit.🤣
It's like a combination of the DLR, Waterloo & City line, Elizabeth Line and a lift (elevator).
How?
@@bfapple Dlr- automated
Waterloo & city - two stop shuttle
Elizabeth line- platform screen doors
@@aliceji498 So just like any other people mover e.g. Birmingham International !
And we all thought the Great Train Robbery was in 1963 !
I liked the ‘G for Geoff’ bit 😂
Hello from Dallas,TX! We do have DART, It stands for Dallas Area Rapid Transport. DART has buses, trams, trains for the Dallas area
"Were you truely wafted in from paradise?"
"Naa, Luton Airport"
Lorraine Chase.
@@surreygoldprospector576 Well remembered 👋
Hello from Canada!!
One of our cities, Saskatoon, used to have a bus service branded DART for Direct Access Rapid Transit!
Defiantly looks like a game changer for airport passengers. Great video Geoff.
Are you high lol? £4.90 for that!? That's absolutely scandalous. The money invested in this could have run the shuttle busses, for free, for years! It's a complete rip-off.
@@leothompson2777 I am aware that the price is ridiculous but it depends how desperate people are for taking it, end of the day yes it a game changer but at a cost.
It's "definitely". "Defiantly" means something else.
Thanks for the great video, Geoff. Cheers! Peter.
Oh a video from my local area!
You looked and sounded just like I feel whenever I have to go to Luton Airport. Don't worry, it's the sort of place most people struggle to enthuse over.
“Yes, but it’s snowing” already well versed on the excuses…
4.95? What a cheek! No fee for taking the shuttle within Heathrow! Did they cancel the original shuttle bus? It didn't take much longer than Dart and cost only 2GBP. When booking your thru ticket check to see how much extra you're paying for the Dart.
As I remember, Birmingham airport connected with the NEC, using the same type of free train in the late 1970's. There actually a type of funicular train, due to the cable.
Worth noting that it was originally a Maglev (magnetic levitation) system. Also it was introduced in the 1980s when the new airport terminal building was built to replace the original on the opposite side of the runway.
@@marcelwiszowaty1751 Indeed, and I believe it was the first commercial maglev in the world. At the time it was thought it would be the first of many. It wasn't! It ran for eleven years before being replaced with the cable hauled system in use today. Incidentally, I've been on the Shanghai maglev which was very impressive.
@@egpx Yes, of course, although I hadn't remembered that it ran for that many years. I find the current system smoother and there's more capacity with it's two-car units.
@@egpx PS Thanks!
There are at least three transit agencies in the US which are known as DART: Dallas (Texas) Area Rapid Transit, Des Moines (Iowa) Area Regional Transit and Delaware Transit Corporation, which brands it's bus services as DART for it's predecessor agency, the Delaware Administration for Regional Transit.
Had to make the journey between Parkway and the airport a couple of times just last week. Something like this is much needed!
Welcome to the UK = you have to pay £4.90 to get from the airport station to the airport. The trick here is to call the station "Luton Airport Parkway" not "Luton Airport" which basically means you get to NEAR the airport, not at it - so you then have to pay a bit more to get to the check-in desk! Still, nice shuttle, and as ever great video! The top transport geek is Geoff!
Shout out Dallas DART! Longest light rail in the USA
I used to operate the DART light rail train (and the bus)!
Another great video. Thank you. 😀
I'm not American, but I am from Dublin and we do indeed have a DART!
loved hearing a dutch sound from one of the project managers.
yep, at 7:00
Welcome to Luton Geoff, my hometown. While it has it's downsides (like most other places) it also has the quaint Luton Park Museum, Stockwood Park and Luton Hoo as seen in films like Eyes Wide Shut and Four Weddings and a Funeral!
Nice & modern
It's almost scarily similar to a lot of airport transfer AirTrain systems at American airports. Newark and JFK in particular have systems that run almost identically, direct access from train station, costs around a fiver to ride, no-driver operation. One big difference is that the Newark Airport Amtrak/New Jersey Transit station isn't accessible from the street, you can only access it from getting off the train. Interesting system and this new one at Luton will definitely be more convenient than the bus, although shame it's a bit pricey
Newark and JFK as super to easy to get to and from compared to some other awful places
I used the bus to the Subway to avoid paying the Airtrain at both JFK and Newark last week. The NYC bus worked out as free due to free transfer to Subway and the NJ bus was $1.60 then $2.75 for the PATH. The Airtrain, due to currency fluctuation, is actually around £6.90 at present.
The Newark Airtrain is being replaced soon too. Probably with a system identical to JFK, but the monorail is reaching the end of its 25-year service life.
there is a similar system under Zurich airport in Switzerland. it plays cow sounds as it moves between the terminal and arrivals..
Glad you mentioned the ticket machines- but for us high functioners, what does a ticket look like? I will need them for my collection!
@@geofftech2 thanks Geoff, any chance of viewing one?
Please.....
@@geofftech2 Did you happen to see if the machine issued Railcard discounts for through fares?
Nice to here about new unusual transit
wooow this is so different now. I worked in the covid testing lab at this airport January to October 2021. Although my lab was on the carpark we of course went into the terminal to grab food. At that that time the Luton airport parkway rail station just looked very crappy, with construction sites everywhere...guess now most of those crap are gone now haha
It’s been rebuilt so nicely!
Gerat video as usual - thank you. One question. 3:47 - "operational team lean" - lead maybe?
Nice to see the role of Lorraine Chase being reprised.
Yep. And was Geoff truly wafted there from paradise? I think we should be told.
In our county (King County, WA, USA), we have DART - Dial-A-Ride Transit. It is our combination of fixed route and on-call bus service. I think that acronym is fairly common in the US. Our system is small buses on a fixed route, but if you call the bus will deviate a little and come pick you up at your house or business.
New trains!
Now my only proplem is that the flights from NI to Luton go from Belfast International which has no rail connection despite fully serviceable railway line running just outside the perimeter fench.
Atlanta has it's own Airport Underground train.. Take the train to the plane
I was lucky enough to be involved with the emergency procedure training and trials of this with the local ambulance service. Got to have a ride on the dart from the terminal to the station and back again.
About time! It always seemed odd to arrive at Luton Airport Parkway and have to go hunting for a bus which then gets stuck in traffic. Tbh I gave up flying from there years ago as the train station seemed so creepy in the evenings; I used to be the only one there and trains to anywhere other than London seemed few and far between.
Luton is awful for traffic, its a horrible place 😮
We have a similar cable hauled train at Pearson intl Airport in Toronto called the "LINK Train"
Same model too DCC Cable Liner
£4.90 for a 3 minute ride.
Ouch.
I had the good fortune (sic) to be in Luton on 27/03/23 and to take a run on the DART. It is certainly an impressive bit of new infrastructure.
The ticket machines are pretty straightforward though it might be easier for passengers (prefer that to customers) if the option ‘Luton Airport’ was supplemented by one saying ‘DART’ as that is the word being used to differentiate it from the former bus service.
Passengers waiting for a DART have no indication which platform will be used for the next departure if the platforms are vacant. Not a big deal except that on arrival the DART doors open on one side only but once passengers have alighted the other side opens too by which time some passengers, I observed, had made their way round to the other side.
On arrival the at airport end, it was a wet, windswept walk across to the terminal - some better protection than that afforded by the existing canopies would be worthwhile.
In the airport terminal there was nothing to direct passengers to DART per se just a sign to the trains. I’d have thought that, after spending so much on the DART, the airport would have made maximum effort to make its existence clear. The airport website seems to have the DART well publicised now though why at midday it was showing ‘next trains’ at 23.30 the previous day was a mystery. The rail map is misleading as it implies that southbound Thameslink trains go solely to Brighton whereas, in fact, they also go to Sutton, Orpington etc.
Overall, looks like a much better option than bus transfer so well done to those who conceived it and enabled delivery of the scheme.
I flew from Luton to Girona in 1973 and from memory, the airport {at both ends} were less than basic. We came back two weeks' later and have never been in a plane since...
I have just booked seats on a flight out of Luton for this summer, and I will be arriving by train. Thanks for the advice to buy tickets all the way to the airport, not just to the parkway.
Hey Geoff, it was great to see you yesterday again! And thanks for featuring me in your video at the end 😉 great content as always
Thanks for the video! I was really looking forward to see what it would be like.
Will be convinient for sure, but 4.90 is too much for 159sec of travel
I tried to take a train to Luton Airport Parkway a few years ago, the driver failed to stop and carried on straight to St Pancras, and I missed my flight! Calling it an overshoot on the PA system when they didn't even slowdown made me chuckle.
I don't think I've ever seen so many happy faces in luton
The misery will quickly return
@@rockerjim8045 so much happier now I've left.
I live in Dallas. We have DART rail here. I have not yet been able to take it to Luton Airport.
@@geofftech2 Howdy, Geoff! 🤠 (I don't actually say "howdy", but it is the Texas thing to say, y'all.)
It reminds me of the shuttle pod from the classic sci fi show space 1999. I love the look.
So I live in St Albans and have been waiting for DART to open for a year or so now. Yet when it happens I learn about it on UA-cam, not on any of the local Facebook groups or similar. Maybe it's not such a big deal for most local residents? I understand that the bus service is being withdrawn so the train fare to Luton Airport for my wife & I is now going to be even more when the higher DART fare is bundled in. Hardly any point in paying a tenner for a short trip to St Albans station by taxi, dragging our cases over to Platform 3, etc. when for a few quid more we might as well book a fixed rate cab to take us straight to the drop-off, next to the DART exit/entrance.
Geoff, you're on a roll with these videos! Keep it up and remember, It's never the end of the line (hint, hint)
Just a small correction that tickets (up to 4) will be half price for Luton residents, not free.
At least that's what the website currently states alongside what I've seen on Twitter.
£4.90 for a journey that takes just over 3 mins. Is that the UK's most expensive per minute form of public transport?
Looks great, I love it!