Rail Access to Airports - How important is dedication?
Abstract
The provision of good quality rail links to airports is recognised as an important factor in encouraging surface access by public rather than private transport. When designing and implementing such links, it is generally accepted that dedication of facilities and services for airport passengers offers the best way to capture those who might not otherwise consider using rail.
However, many airport services have to share station facilities and line capacity with other rail services which are subject to peak commuter flows. Where relatively lightly loaded airport services use capacity which might otherwise be used to relieve pressure on crowded commuter services, there may be calls for redistribution of capacity. If this involves shared use of trains and additional stops, it is generally regarded as detrimental to the quality of the airport link.
The situation may further be complicated if, as is sometimes the case, dedicated airport and standard commuter services are operated by different train companies with different fares and business objectives.
This paper considers whether it is possible to devise practical solutions which offer at least some of the benefits of dedication while meeting requirements for more equitable use of overall capacity.
Author
John Hawthorne
SKM (Europe), London, UK