Train-To-The-Plane
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Train-to-the-plane is a rhyming way of describing a rail connection to an airport. The idea is to have fewer cars going to (and being left in long-term parking areas at) a city's airport.
Having a quick, easy train connection with the airport has been common in Europe and Japan for a long time, but it is becoming more popular in North America, with New York City, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and others having added rail links to their airports since 2000.
Connection types
One-seat ride via main-line train
Regional rail-type service directly from a city center to the airport, without needing to change trains and sometimes without intermediate stops:Asia
- Tokyo Narita International Airport via JR East's Narita Express or Keisei Electric Railway's Skyliner
- Osaka Kansai International Airport via JR West's Haruka or Nankai Railway's [[Rapi:t]]
- Nagoya Chubu Centrair International Airport via Nagoya Railroad
- Sapporo Chitose International Airport via JR Hokkaido
- Hong Kong International Airport via Airport Express
- Shanghai Pudong International Airport via Shanghai Maglev Train
- Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport
- Kuala Lumpur International Airport via KLIA Ekspres
- Bangkok International Airport via State Railway of Thailand (Suvarnabhumi Airport (under construction) is also planned to have a rail link)
Europe
- Amsterdam Schiphol airport
- Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport via the Proastiakos suburban railway service
- Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport via regional and intercity rail.
- Copenhagen Airport via Kystbanen and InterCity services; direct trains to many cities in Denmark and Sweden.
- Düsseldorf International Airport via regional and intercity rail services.
- Frankfurt International Airport (used by Lufthansa as if its train service was a [connecting airline]).
- Geneva-Cointrin Airport via Swiss Federal Railways
- London
- *Heathrow Airport via Heathrow Express
- *Gatwick Airport via Gatwick Express although the one-stop service has been axed. The service will begin to serve intimediate stations due to overcrowding on the Brighton Main Line
- *Stansted Airport via Stansted Express
- Manchester International Airport(First TransPennine Express, Northern Rail operated as per a normal train service)
- Milan Malpensa International Airport via Malpensa Express [link]
- Moscow
- *Domodedovo International Airport
- *Vnukovo Airport
- Munich International Airport via Transrapid maglev line (in construction)
- Oslo Airport, Gardermoen via the Airport Express Train
- Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport via TGV to many French cities.
- Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport
- Rome Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport via Leonardo Express [link]
- Stockholm Arlanda via Arlanda Express and intercity trains
- Vienna International Airport via City Airport Train (CAT) [link]
- Zurich-Kloten International Airport via Swiss Federal Railways
North America
- Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California via Metrolink or Amtrak
- Philadelphia International Airport via SEPTA Regional Rail
- Milwaukee's Mitchell Field via Amtrak
Oceania
One-seat ride via local public transport
Many cities also provide a link to their airports through their metro/rapid transit or light rail systems, which, unlike express trains, often make numerous stops on the way to the airport.Asia
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- Kuala Lumpur International Airport via the KLIA Transit
- Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) via Tokyo Monorail or Keihin Electric Express Railway
- Osaka International Airport (Itami) via Osaka Monorail
- Fukuoka Airport via Fukuoka Subway
- Naha Airport via Okinawa Monorail
- Singapore Changi Airport via SMRT East West Line (easy cross-platform interchange at Tanah Merah since 2004, shuttle service only)
- Seoul's Gimpo International Airport via Seoul Subway Line 5
- Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (Taipei) via TRTS (under construction, to be completed by 2012)
Europe
- Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport via the Athens Metro
- Barcelona International Airport via RENFE commuter train
- Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport via Berlin S-Bahn
- Copenhagen Airport via Copenhagen Metro (under construction, to open in 2007)
- Frankfurt International Airport via Rhein-Main S-Bahn.
- Istanbul Atatürk International Airport via Istanbul's Light metro
- London:
- *Heathrow Airport via the London Underground's Piccadilly Line or National Rail's Heathrow Connect trains
- *London City Airport via the Docklands Light Railway
- Madrid Barajas Airport via the Madrid Metro
- Munich International Airport via Munich S-Bahn
- Newcastle Airport via the Tyne and Wear Metro
- Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport via RER B.
- Turin International airport via local train.
North America
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport via MARTA
- Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport via the Baltimore Light Rail
- Cleveland's Hopkins International Airport via Cleveland Rapid Transit (the first direct rail connection in the United States)
- Chicago's O'Hare International Airport via the 'L' Blue Line and Midway Airport via the Orange Line
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DC) via the Washington Metro
- Portland International Airport via MAX
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport via the Hiawatha Line
- Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri via the St. Louis Metrolink
- San Francisco International Airport via BART
- Vancouver International Airport in Vancouver via the Canada Line (currently under construction; to be completed November 2009)
Rail to airport people mover
A hybrid solution adopted in some cities is a direct commuter rail connection to an airport train station instead of to the airport itself. At the airport train station, the passenger switches to a peoplemover or other train that goes to the airport terminals. The same system can also serve passengers moving between different terminals and travelling between the terminals and car rental lots or parking areas.
Europe
- Paris Orly Airport via Orlyval, a peoplemover that connects to the RER network at Antony
- Birmingham International Airport via a pair of light-rail vehicles, connects the airport terminal to Birmingham International Railway Station, where the West Coast Main Line runs to Birmingham, Coventry and London.
North America
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York) via AirTrain JFK and either the Long Island Rail Road at Jamaica Station or the New York City Subway at Howard Beach () or Sutphin Boulevard/Archer Avenue (E J Z (1a)).
- Newark Liberty International Airport via AirTrain Newark and its train station, a stop for Amtrak and NJ Transit (Used by Continental Airlines as if it were a [connecting airline].)
- San Francisco International Airport via AirTrain SFO. While the BART station is immediately adjacent to the International terminal and all terminals are physically connected, many people transfer to AirTrain to get to other terminals because of the airport's size.
Asia
- Pudong International Airport (Shanghai) via metro line 2 to Longyang Road/Lu station & walk across sidewalk to transfer to the Transrapid Maglev, for 50 CN¥. Then walk across bridges to Airport Building. This could be considered a direct line but it terminates in the outer parts of Pudong, not in the city center. The maglev is quick & will whisk you 19 miles or 30 km to the airport in 7 minutes & 20 seconds at a top speed of 268 mph, 431 km/h.
Rail to bus to airport
Another common arrangement, especially in the United States and Canada, requires the passenger to take a train (or metro) to a railway station (usually) near the airport and then switch to a bus that goes to the airport terminals.North America
- Washington Dulles International Airport via the $8 Washington Flyer and the Washington Metro
- Boston's Logan International Airport via either:
- * A free shuttle bus and the MBTA Blue Line.
- * The Silver Line Bus Rapid Transit service connecting with the MBTA Red Line (a free transfer) and commuter rail at South Station.
- Los Angeles International Airport via a shuttle bus and the Metro Green Line [link] or [Amtrak California]
- Burbank's Bob Hope Airport via shuttle bus and Metrolink
- Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport via two shuttle buses and the Trinity Railway Express [link]
- Oakland International Airport via AirBART and BART
- San Jose International Airport via a shuttle bus from the Santa Clara Caltrain station or VTA's Metro/Airport Light Rail Station.
- Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport via a shuttle bus and the BWI Rail Station, a stop for Amtrak and MARC.
- Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport via a shuttle bus and Amtrak [link] [link]
- Toronto Pearson International Airport [link]
- Miami International Airport via shuttle bus and Tri-Rail or Metrorail
- Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport via AirConnect shuttle bus and VIA Rail or the STM bus #204 and the Dorion-Rigaud Line of the AMT commuter rail system
Europe
- London Luton Airport via shuttle bus from Luton Airport Parkway railway station
- Moscow Sheremetyevo, minibuses from the metro station Rechnoi Vokzal
Asia
- Kuala Lumpur International Airport via the KTM Komuter to Nilai station and transfer onto local bus to the airport. Two bus companies - Sepang Omnibus and Airport Coach - provide this link.
Future
More and more cities are considering "train to the plane" services.Denver has included such service in a massive regional rail plan that was unveiled recently. Plans are also in the works to connect the Washington Metro to Dulles. From time to time, New York City has proposed extending the subway N/W (Astoria) line to create a connection to LaGuardia Airport. Las Vegas has an ongoing discussion about extending the monorail into McCarran International Airport. Also in the Vegas area, the planned Ivanpah Airport is sited on the right of way for the proposed maglev demonstration project.
None of Canada's major airports currently have railway links, but two are planned. Toronto is to have Blue22, a mainline train running from its downtown Union Station to Toronto Pearson International Airport. Vancouver's TransLink is building the Canada Line, an automated metro line attached to the city's existing SkyTrain system, one branch of which will terminate at Vancouver International Airport; it is to be open in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Also, in Ottawa, there are plans to extend the O-Train to the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport, and in Montreal, there are discussions of a direct rail link between Gare Centrale and Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
See also
External links
- [LA Times article about taking trains to airports]
- [Extending the Metro to Dulles]
- [Airtrain JFK vs. the old "Train To The Plane" in NYC]
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