King Charles rides Luton Airport’s DART train – but when can you?

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• Alex G says:

  9 Dec9 December 04:10

  The plans for DART were announced in April 2016

  https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2016-04-15/the-200-million-pound-tube-style-rail-link-to-cut-journey-times-to-luton-airport

  Milestones since then;

  July 2017: planning permission received
  December 2017: contractors appointed
  April 2018: start of works
  Autumn 2019: bridge installation
  Winter 2021: ongoing train testing and installation, plus final station works

  https://lutonrising.org.uk/our-developments/luton-dart/

  • AL says:

    9 Dec9 December 04:25

    Just a bit out, then… Britain for you!

    • DaveJ says:

      9 Dec9 December 05:24

      Almost as bad as the Wembley and spurs stadium fiascos!

      • Erico1875 says:

        9 Dec9 December 06:55

        Or the Berlin Airport or the Temple Familia Segrada in Barcelona

        • Michael Jennings says:

          9 Dec9 December 09:54

          I think Barcelona is a bit different. That’s privately funded (by donations and entrance fees) and taking a century or several to build a grand church slowly is how it has often happened over the millennia. Berlin airport was certainly a fuckup.

  • Chris says:

    9 Dec9 December 08:38

    It’s not Britain for you; it’s government projects for you.

    Watch the buildings on Bishopsgate go up and open and it’s clear that when money is on the line we can get things done. 22 bishops gate is 278m tall was finished in 3 years.

    • DaveJ says:

      9 Dec9 December 10:24

      “it’s government projects for you.”

      Not just government projects. Most really eg the stadium examples I have.

• Jameel says:

  9 Dec9 December 04:30

  The shuttle bus from Luton Parkway to Luton Airport is free for Freedom Pass holders. One of the few benefits of being an OAP!

  • Rhys says:

    9 Dec9 December 09:02

    What do you mean ‘few’? You get discounts virtually everywhere!

    • Rich says:

      9 Dec9 December 09:24

      And guaranteed inflation related pay increases!

      • Alan says:

        10 Dec10 December 08:49

        After a working life of final salary pensions and much lower house value to salary ratio no doubt also.

    • dougzz99 says:

      9 Dec9 December 12:12

      Tinge of bitter?

      • mvcvz says:

        10 Dec10 December 01:00

        Tinge of reality I suspect

• Whitespace says:

  9 Dec9 December 05:37

  Last time I used the train to Luton, the Parkway station wasn’t even a thing and you had to get a bus from the town centre train station…

• Gavin says:

  9 Dec9 December 07:49

  No mention of the cost (unpublished as yet): it’ll be £4.90 each way. They hope to wind it into the rail ticket for most users – hence the allusion to ‘ticketing negotiations’ when they last delayed it.

• Peter says:

  9 Dec9 December 08:43

  Looks like there will charge £5 for a ride, more expensive than the Heathrow express (per minute and by distance)!

  • Andrew. says:

    9 Dec9 December 09:21

    How does it compare to Edinburgh trams? It’s £6.50 single from Edinburgh P&R which is exactly 1km distance.

  • apbj says:

    9 Dec9 December 09:35

    A bargain for not having to faff around waiting for that bus and paying in cash, no change given.

    • Michael Jennings says:

      9 Dec9 December 09:55

      To be fair, you can pay with a card on the bus, which makes it slightly less annoying. (No Amex though).

    • mvcvz says:

      10 Dec10 December 01:02

      I used the Edinburgh tram from and to the airport for the first time a couple of months ago. Absolutely fantastic and brilliant value for money.

  • Londonsteve says:

    9 Dec9 December 18:17

    I’d rather take the bus for the existing price. £5 is more than the cost of some flights from Luton! I do hope they see sense and it’s not actually going to be £5 each way for passengers without through rail tickets to Luton Airport. That’s hideously expensive for the short distance. Perhaps enterprising taxi drivers would like to undercut the DART, Cuban ‘taxi collectivo’ style. £2.50 each for 5 passengers in a black cab is £12.50 for the driver for a 5 minute drive. Certainly cheaper to just pay the meter price if you’re travelling in a group of 4, but it might even be cheaper for only 2!

    • Chas says:

      10 Dec10 December 04:07

      The taxi driver would then have to pay £5 of that in drop-off charges.

      • Londonsteve says:

        10 Dec10 December 13:40

        Minicabs certainly would, but I don’t think black cabs, aka Hackney carriages would need to as they have their own section of the forecourt. I would be surprised if black cabs pay the terminal drop-off fee at Heathrow too. Hackney cabs are considered public transport vehicles, unlike private hire.

• Tom says:

  9 Dec9 December 09:38

  £5 per person each way. That’s £20 for a couple or £40 for a small family – on top of the existing train travel. Outrageous. The bus (and now this new DART) is the reason I never fly from Luton!

  • mvcvz says:

    10 Dec10 December 01:03

    I never fly from Luton because the place is an unmitigated craphole. But each to their own.

• ankomonkey says:

  9 Dec9 December 09:49

  I always thought being a king was pretty glamorous – riding into battle on horseback, possibly slaying a dragon or two, feasting on freshly-roasted hog and glugging down goblets of mead. Instead, it involves riding an empty train and standing in front of a plaque. Not even a ribbon to cut…

  • Michael Jennings says:

    9 Dec9 December 09:57

    I think being king is slightly less ghastly than being Prince of Wales, which he was for 60 years., but it’s still a very boring job a lot of the time.

    • Doommonger says:

      9 Dec9 December 11:06

      I have every sympathy for King Charles having to visit hell holes such as Luton, Slough, Barrow and Middlesbrough.

    • DaveJ says:

      9 Dec9 December 16:11

      Poor lad

  • John says:

    9 Dec9 December 10:08

    Riding into battle (presumably against another king who judges his chances against you are pretty good) comes with a 50% chance of death.

• T says:

  9 Dec9 December 10:33

  The article is slightly misleading. IIRC it was never free as the ticket to Luton airport is more expensive than one to Luton airport parkway.

  Dart is a cable pulled team. It’s super hard to see how it could cost so much to build. Oh wait it was built in the UK…..

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