{"id":5943,"date":"2023-05-10T08:19:10","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T08:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=5943"},"modified":"2023-05-10T08:19:10","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T08:19:10","slug":"riding-london-luton-airports-new-dart-shuttle-whats-it-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=5943","title":{"rendered":"Riding London Luton Airport’s New DART Shuttle: What’s It Like?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0opened an automated people-mover<\/a>\u00a0known as the DART.<\/p>\n

A short walk from the terminal<\/h2>\n

Following its initial soft opening in mid-March, when the DART (Direct Air-Rail\u00a0Transit<\/a>) 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\u00a0London Luton Airport<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday lunchtime after a long weekend away in\u00a0Prague<\/a>. Upon exiting the terminal, I was quickly greeted by signage indicating the DART’s proximity, as pictured below.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Photo: Jake Hardiman | Simple Flying<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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 (\u00a34.90\/$6.20 for an adult single) have been\u00a0a point of contention in its early months<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"London<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Photo: Jake Hardiman | Simple Flying<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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 \u00a313.05, exactly \u00a34.90 more than the \u00a38.15 that a super off-peak single (with a railcard) from Luton Airport Parkway to\u00a0London<\/a>\u00a0commands, confirming that the one-third discount doesn’t cover the DART.<\/p>\n

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Modern and spacious<\/h2>\n

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\u00a0frequency<\/a>\u00a0of the service.<\/p>\n

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\"Inside<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Photo: Jake Hardiman | Simple Flying<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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).<\/p>\n