If you build it, they will connect
City-to-airport rail links such as new UP Express line are growing trend around globe
Rail links to airports in many cities around the world have been around for decades, but getting travellers off roads and onto tracks is a growing global trend.
With the debut of the UP Express line this month, Toronto joins the ranks of world-class cities such as New York, Bangkok, London, Hong Kong, Moscow, Rome and Tokyo — all of which have had dedicated express lines between an airport and the city centre for years.
Similar plans have been in the works in various Canadian cities for years, with Vancouver leading the way when its Canada Line opened in 2009, connecting the airport with the downtown core and Richmond.
Here is a sampling of other air-rail link lines recently completed, being built or in the planning stages around the world. As the most commuter rail-centric continent in the world, Europe is experiencing the greatest expansion of ground links.
Africa
South Africa: Cape Town and the national railway operator plan to use existing rail lines to create links to both Cape Town International Airport and the King Shaka International Airport in Durban as part of the region’s long-term rail network upgrade project.
Asia Qatar: Last year, work began on a rail link between Hamad International Airport, downtown Doha and surrounding cities, opening in stages beginning in 2018. Indonesia: When completed some time next year, Railink will connect Jakarta and Soekarno-Hatta Airport as the country’s second direct air-rail link, after Kualanamu International Airport’s line to the city of Medan.
Europe
Northern Ireland: Rail-passenger numbers have nearly doubled since 2002 but track expansion has been almost non-existent since the 1960s, and now plans are in the works to catch up with demand throughout the country, including a proposed new route from Belfast to the Belfast International Airport. France: As of April this year, the new T2 tram line now directly connects travellers heading to and from the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport to the centre of Toulouse, with a 2.4-kilometre extension taking in three stations along the way. Czech Republic: Ostrava is the first city in the country to have a direct connection to an international airport via its newly completed rail link to Leos Janacek Airport this April. It stops at three stations on a 30-minute trek to and from the city’s main train station. Bulgaria: The Sofia Metro Line 1 Extension Project, also open this April, provides a direct link from the city’s centre to Sofia Airport along a five-kilometre route that takes 20 minutes, stopping at four stations. Poland: Scheduled to open this fall, the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway’s 18-kilometre line will link the cities of Gdansk and Gdynia to Lech Walesa Airport, with nine community stations along the route. Finland: Work began in 2009 on the 18-kilometre Ring Rail Line that will this summer connect the Helsinki Central Railway Station to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The project involved extensive underground tunnelling under the airport and also at one of the line’s five new stations. Iceland: It’s just in the early planning stages but civic leaders, entrepreneurs and investors have started the discussion about building a 47kilometre high-speed express rail line linking Reykjavik and Keflavik International Airport.
Australia/Oceania
Australia: Canberra International Airport has been lobbying for years for a rail link to Australia’s capital about nine kilometres away, releasing its own plans in 2013. In May, a city council meeting gave its support, citing the importance of such a project but ground has yet to be broken. Australia: Although Victoria’s coalition government was committed to building a 23-kilometre rail link to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport from the state capital as part of a larger rail strategy last year, those plans have been put on hold after last fall’s Labor Party victory. New Zealand: With the number of travellers passing through Auckland Airport expected to triple to 40 million per year by 2044, the desire for a 21-kilometre rail link to the city centre is evident. The airport set aside land for a rail corridor and underground station at its combined domestic and international terminal.
North America
Toronto: As of this weekend, Canada’s largest city begins UP Express operations with a 25-minute rail link to Pearson International Airport. Edmonton: Although there is no framework set up yet, extending the city’s LRT system to connect downtown with Edmonton International Airport has been proposed. Calgary: The home of the Stampede is also looking at a future rail link to Calgary’s International Airport by extending the existing commuter rail line. Montreal: A rail link from downtown Montreal to Trudeau International Airport is in the planning stages and there is already a dedicated space for a station under the main terminal. Denver: The 196-kilometre Fas-Tracks public rail expansion began with renovations to transform Denver’s Union Station into a multimodal transportation hub servicing the metropolitan area. It includes a 36-kilometre express rail corridor to Denver International Airport, which is expected to be operating in 2016. Las Vegas: Completed in 1993, the Las Vegas Monorail stops at and around key hotel and casino locations and since 2008 plans to extend it to McCarran International Airport have met with disapproval from the limo and taxi industry. That project is still awaiting funding.