Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
Trains to the planes are largely a waste of money. Mobility within airports is important, but cities are always wasting time trying to get businesspeople (who don't ride trains and generally can't even if they wanted to, because they aren't paying, and there is no system on earth that is door-to-door to every hotel like Uber) to ride trains instead of, you know, actually investing in transit that benefits the riding public.
If an airport is on an established commuting corridor, it should definitely have rail service. And obviously there needs to be some kind of public transit from airports to major destinations. But rail lines established for exclusive city center to airport runs are largely wastes.
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Taxis are more flexible, but that is not a realistic prospect with the growth in aviation and the need to transport increasing volumes of people from an airport to the city centre and other destinations. I would also add that rail to airports is more than just giving businesspeople a convenient ride, it is about providing options to leisure travellers and people who work at airports.
London Heathrow historically had the London Underground Piccadilly Line as a connection, but the construction of a branch line off the Great Western Main Line provided a quicker route into town. Pre-Covid, some 13.45mn (non-Underground) journeys were made on this three-station branch, of which 46% are Heathrow Express passengers. If the Heathrow branch was on the LIRR network, it would be the fourth busiest. When Crossrail opens later this year, all three of London’s CBD’s will have a one-seat ride to all of Heathrow’s terminals which will likely lead to a boom in passengers opting for rail.
London Stansted was built with a branch line off the West Anglia Main Line, enabling journeys to London, Cambridge and further afield. 10mn rail journeys are made from the station at Stansted.
If a branch line was not on the cards, the airport was moved, which is what happened with London Gatwick to enable direct terminal access to the Brighton Main Line. 21mn people use Gatwick Airport station each year, which has direct links to 120 stations and a further 700+ with one change.
Manchester, London Southend, Southampton, etc… also have heavy rail stations connected to the terminal buildings. Countless others have parkway stations. Rather than be viewed as a waste of money, they have proven to be incredibly successful. This is just the UK, countless countries and cities have similar setups.
For that reason, there are numerous proposals to increase connectivity even further across many airports. Two proposed lines into Heathrow (see below graphic) would provide direct rail connections to south west London, the West, South West and Wales. A new loop line is proposed to connect East Midlands Airport with the cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. Glasgow has flirted with a direct rail link to its airport. HS2 will also increase airport access with new stations at Birmingham Interchange (for Birmingham International) and Manchester Airport. Birmingham International will be 40mins from London Euston or Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham and Manchester airports will be a 30 min journey on HS2, which for context that is an equivalent journey of Newark Liberty to Philadelphia International.
Source: Heathrow Rail: https://heathrowrail.com