Does The Luton DART Line Improve Access For Locals?
A new Express rail service will connect Luton Airport Parkway to a station inside the Airport Terminal in under 4 minutes. Using TRACC we have modelled what the access would look like with the new station added in and which areas will benefit from the rail enhancement.
The Current Access
Using the Heathrow Express as a proxy, we have added 8 services each way based on a Tuesday morning between 7 am to 9 am (our rail passenger scenario). The Direct Air-Rail Transit (DART), replacing the incumbent shuttle bus service will save 6 minutes of commute time by changing modes of transport, and the route, however, will be continuing to operate on a 24-hour schedule. Here is the current outlook for access to the Airport using a time catchment of an hour and a colour-coded breakdown every 10 minutes.
Access After DART Line Added
Although there's not a huge amount of difference, towns in Hertfordshire including Radlett, Harpenden, St. Albans all benefit with increased access ensuring closer proximity in public transport travel time to Luton Airport with the introduction of the DART Line.
