Luton has long been regarded as London’s least convenient airport, due in no small part to the fact that it lacked a direct rail link.
For decades, passengers arriving by train at the romantically named Luton Airport Parkway Station have had to wait for a 10-minute bus transfer (or longer in heavy traffic) to the airport – paying £2.40 for the privilege.
But that unwanted clatter is a thing of the past after the new Dart (Direct Air-Rail Transit) service soft-launched today (March 10). The shuttle connects the station to the airport terminal in less than three minutes, meaning journeys from central London (St Pancras) to Luton departures can take just half an hour. It will be fully operational by the end of this month, with services running every four minutes during peak hours.
The electrically powered project is part of an effort to make Luton a carbon neutral city by 2040 and aims to increase the number of train users at the airport by 10 per cent. City Councilman, Hazel Simmons, has declared the “energy-efficient” Dart “a vital sign of our commitment to encouraging more passengers to take the train instead of individual car rides to and from our airport.”
However, the 1.25-mile link has come under fire for its hefty £4.90 one-way ticket price, with some dubbing it, pound for pound, the country’s most expensive rail journey. Indeed, in terms of cost per mile it beats the notoriously expensive Heathrow Express, which costs £3.95 per mile instead of £1.52. And at a time when other countries, such as Spain and Luxembourg, have started offering cheap or even free train travel as part of environmental campaigns, the fee feels particularly punitive.
The seven-year project has also been marred by delays – it was originally set to open in 2021 – and rising costs to the tune of £290 million. Luton residents have also grumbled about the diversion of funds to the Dart, potentially neglecting issues such as litter in the town centre.
Despite the mixed welcome, I went to Luton hoping to be one of the first to board the new service. The Dart’s ‘terminal’ overshadows the rest of the station and seems too big for a three minute journey. Sliding glass doors (that hallmark of modern stations) hide the four platforms and the whole look is fairly utilitarian and bland. There were no opening parties to speak of – “not even a balloon,” another passenger complained. Although staff members let out a few lame “woos”.
As I approached paying nearly £5 (payment via a QR code – the ticket machines aren’t working yet) for the 1,999m journey, I considered what else could be bought for that amount. The matching price Pret a Manger baguette previously bought in St Pancras lasts about the same time and is equally convenient, but could score higher for fun (well, it was the caesar version with chicken). Thoughts then turned to the £4 ticket price of the six-hour Sri Lanka train journey from Kandy to Ella, which often goes by Instagram, through lush tea plantations, valleys and viaducts rather than the bowels of an airport. The Dart even compares unfavorably with the cost of some Luton flights – Ryanair has return tickets to Barcelona in April for £34, or seven shuttle journeys.
But it turned out that today’s soft launch would only charge £2.40. Encouraged by this news, my fellow passengers (mostly train spotters judging by the lack of luggage) and I waited eagerly on the platform for the gleaming shuttle to roll in.
There was some competition for the train’s 34 seats, particularly the benches at the all-glass end of the carriages – although with standing room for 170 passengers we all fit comfortably on board.
While the journey itself isn’t full of visual thrills, the self-propelled shuttle does make a 150-foot (45-meter) climb up the hill. It’s not quite Alton Towers but adds a bit of interest. And after two minutes and 39 seconds we arrived at the terminal – I didn’t even have time to listen to the entirety of Living in the Past by Sons-of-Luton Jethro Tull.
For rail trivia fans, the new service is technically not a train but a funicular. It was built and will be operated by Austria’s Doppelmayr Cable Car company, which was also behind the Boris Johnson championed cable car across the Thames. No doubt Luton will hope the Dart is better received than the £60 million Docklands folly, which costs up to £6 for a five to ten minute journey (£5 on Oyster).
Some may find the cost of the shuttle easier to swallow if they buy a combined train and darts ticket from St Pancras, which has rebranded its Luton Parkway service as Luton Airport Express. Trains run every half hour, take 22 minutes and same day tickets cost £22.40. This price is in line with the other London airport rail links, which while not known for value, feel a little less blatant than the £2 per minute Dart. Luton residents, meanwhile, get a 50 percent discount on travel.
Ultimately, the Dart will be put to good use as it is the only option for rail travellers. And for speed and convenience, it’s definitely preferable to the soon-to-be-retired bus. However, there needs to be a broader conversation about why sustainability efforts always seem to come at the expense of consumers. Charging such high fares for airport trains certainly won’t encourage travelers to ditch their cars. And with train prices across the country set to rise 5.9 percent next month, the fee feels like another kick in the teeth for passengers already hurting from strikes and the cost-of-living crisis.