No let-up in provision of new rail-air links

International Railway Journal,  March, 2003  by Andrew Sharp

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The airport station has two 400m-long platforms which are covered from end to end. The station is integrated into the new air terminal which will open next month. Until then, shuttle buses convey passengers between the new station and the old air terminal.

The operators of Leipzig-Hale airport regard the new rail link as crucial to the airport's fight for traffic in competition with the airports serving Berlin, 175km to the north.

A number of other rapid transit operators have recently opened airport extensions. The Singapore metro was extended to Changi airport in February 2002; here too there are generous luggage stacks on the trains allocated to the airport service. Istanbul's light rail network was extended by 1.8km to the airport at the end of October.

In the United States, Bay Area Rapid Transit's (Bart) extension to San Francisco airport is expected to open soon. It will run southwards from Colma to Millbrae, south of the airport with an interchange to the San Francisco--San Jose Caltrain commuter rail service. North of Millbrae, there is a wye into the airport as the airport authority had concerns about security (prior to September 11 2001), so the ability to run trains past the airport rather than into it if necessary was essential.

The Caltrain service is being significantly upgraded: the new station at Millbrae, replacing a historic structure, is very impressive indeed. New Bombardier double-deck trains are being introduced to replace the old gallery cars, and the infrastructure is also being improved.

The first stage of Airtrain JFK, the link between JFK airport in New York and the Long Island Rail Road (now MTA Rail Road) and the New York subway, should have opened at the end of last year. This was postponed following a tragic fatal accident during testing. The train was being driven manually, although in normal service it will be automatic.

Part of the load of concrete blocks on board to simulate the weight of passengers shifted and crushed the operator. The cause is still under investigation, but it is known that the speed at the time of the accident exceeded speeds to be used in normal automatic service and this may have been a factor.

Shanghai Maglev

The Shanghai maglev is something else. It will use linear induction motors and the principles of magnetic levitation to cover the 31km from Pudong airport to the metro interchange at Longyang Road in 7 minutes. The infrastructure is complete: a number of trains have been delivered and extensive testing is underway. Opening is forecast for September.

It will be recalled that a maglev link using technology developed by British Rail Research was provided in Birmingham, Britain, to connect the International station with the airport for a while in the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, it was an installation in advance of its time. Maglev technology has been tested in Germany and Japan for many years, but Shanghai is likely to be the first application carrying fare-paying passengers (IRJ February p2). Maglev technology is arousing interest in the United States, and the Federal Railroad Administration has set up a competition for funding for a pilot project front running routes are from Pittsburgh to its airport, and from Baltimore to BWI airport and Washington DC.