Luton DART to happen

Perhaps the most important step forward for Luton Airport since Queen Elizabeth opened the new glass-fronted terminal back in 1999, the DART (Direct Air-Rail Transit) is finally nearly ready to offer 24-hour services.

Friday 10 March has been set for the first public passengers to take the two-minute trip between Luton Parkway station and the airport terminal.  The opening has been delayed from the original 2021 target date due to the pandemic and the inevitable engineering problems.  Costs have risen to around £300m but the link is expected to bring substantial benefits to the airport in terms of passenger numbers and a reduction in traffic to and from the airport.  

It is expected that the Luton DART will operate initially for around four hours per day, gradually extending over three weeks towards a 24-hour service.  The journey time is around two minutes.  

During this period, passengers who have a ticket for the existing bus transfer will be invited to take the Luton DART at no additional charge. Alternatively, they may continue to take the bus transfer, until this is withdrawn at a later date.

Travel News Update has experienced the people mover together with King Charles on 6 December.  See the January issue www.travelnewsupdate.co.uk/article/96.

All passengers holding a concessionary bus pass, such as pensioners, people with a disability or acting as companion travellers, will be entitled to free travel on the Luton DART.  For others it will be £4.90 each way, or nearly £10 for the connection plus the train fare making Luton one of the world’s most expensive airports for travellers.  The Luton drop-off road charge is presently £5 for ten minutes but free for the mid-stay car park with no transfer fees. DART is free for under age of 5 years, half price for children aged 5-15 years. 

Two train operators use the Parkway station. East Midlands Railway (EWR) to Corby and Melton Mowbray for connections, and fast trains to St Pancras (32 minutes), plus Thameslink whose extensive network starts at Bedford, and includes Gatwick and Brighton plus Rainham in Kent.

To coincide with the introduction Luton Rising, the Luton Council company that owns the airport, has issued a statement confirming an Application for Development Consent Order being submitted to the Government Planning Inspectorate.  The Council is requesting that the current passenger cap of 18 million passengers per year be raised to 32 million, the target for 2040.  In 2019 the throughput was 18.2 million but only 13.10 million in 2022.

https://lutonrising.org.uk/our-developments/luton-dart

www.london-luton.co.uk

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