Riding London Luton Airport’s New DART Shuttle: What’s It Like?
The transit system has now been open for almost two months.
Luton Airport (LTN) is a key low-cost hub for passengers from London and the southeast of England. Like many UK airports, it has its own railway station (Luton Airport Parkway), but this is not located exactly on the site of the airport itself. This previously meant that passengers had to connect via a shuttle bus, but in March this year, the airport finally opened an automated people-mover known as the DART.
A short walk from the terminal
Following its initial soft opening in mid-March, when the DART (Direct Air-Rail Transit) operated for just four hours a day, its operations were scaled up to a 24-hour schedule by the end of the month. I landed at London Luton Airport on Sunday lunchtime after a long weekend away in Prague. Upon exiting the terminal, I was quickly greeted by signage indicating the DART’s proximity, as pictured below.
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The walk takes no more than a couple of minutes and brings you around the periphery of the airport’s bus station. As the DART is a ticketed system, its entrance features the ticket barriers seen at many UK railway stations. Its high fares (£4.90/$6.20 for an adult single) have been a point of contention in its early months.
Railcard discounts don’t seem to apply to DART fares. As a holder of a 16-25 railcard, I booked a through ticket from Luton Airport to London St Pancras, including the DART leg. This cost £13.05, exactly £4.90 more than the £8.15 that a super off-peak single (with a railcard) from Luton Airport Parkway to London commands, confirming that the one-third discount doesn’t cover the DART.
Modern and spacious
Once through the barriers, I headed down the escalator into the bowels of the DART terminus. The facility is a spacious and modern affair, painted in a golden shade with high roofing that allows a good degree of natural light to sneak in. Unfortunately, I reached the bottom of the escalator just as a DART was departing, but that was no cause for concern, given the frequency of the service.
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Indeed, the DART runs as often as every four minutes, and this was as long as I had to wait for the next transit down to Luton Airport Parkway railway station. The shuttles themselves are also modern and spacious, particularly when traveling at as quiet a time of day as I was. This meant that I could sit at the front of the vehicle, giving a superb view of the track (although the seats face backward).
A speedy transfer
The main advantage of the DART over the bus that used to contact Luton Airport with its railway station is that it is much faster and more direct, and doesn’t run the risk of being held up by road traffic. This was certainly evident during my trip, which took just three minutes. Halfway along, we passed the other shuttle.
From the DART terminus at Luton Airport Parkway, it was a short walk over the bridge and down to the platforms of the mainline railway station. I timed my trip to connect with a non-stop East Midlands Railway service to London St Pancras, which took just 24 minutes, as timetable. Overall, if you can overlook the eyewatering ticket prices, the DART is a fantastically integrated air-rail transfer.
What do you make of London Luton Airport’s new DART? Have you used the shuttle yourself? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
