Luton DART and Luton Airport Parkway Updates

[Edvid]

The rest of the canopy at Parkway is finally emerging.

There will be a short series of overnight closures at the Kimpton Road entrance in a week or so, so the route to the station may change again.

 

[Edvid]

The Kimpton Road entrance will be closed between 18 October and 17 December, so I expect that means some form of passenger access to the DART building will be permitted in a couple of months' time.

Not long until the project reaches completion now.

 

[Backroom_boy]

Has

The Kimpton Road entrance will be closed between 18 October and 17 December, so I expect that means some form of passenger access to the DART building will be permitted in a couple of months' time.

Not long until the project reaches completion now.

Has it reopened again? Been a bit quiet on progress.

 

[Edvid]

It's set to reopen tomorrow at 0800.

Some recent images of the scheme, including the DART interior (shown below):

The street-level gateline at the now-reopened entrance is aligned perpendicular to what was shown in the plans*, which confused me because the plans implied an expansion of the existing paid area to the DART platform concourse.

As this 360-degree view of the concourse shows, that isn't the case. There's a separate gateline for the DART platforms, and presumably another (next to the new lifts) for the footbridge links to the NR platforms.

[* Look up 17/01261/REM on the Luton planning portal if direct access doesn't work]

 

[Edvid]

Made another visit today - turns out the DART building is still entirely closed off. I assumed there would be a restricted path through the new indoor gateline for NR platform access, but it's still an ungated hole in the fence. At least staff were there to check tickets.

As for the DART opening, there's still nothing more specific than "2022" at this late stage.

 

[Scotrail88]

Any further updates to opening?

 

[Edvid]

Luton Rising site says first half of 2022, but according to Thomas Mackintosh (BBC London journalist) the council says August. Don't think there's that much fit-out work left to do, so it must be the testing that's putting it back.

https://twitter.com/T_Mackintosh/status/1491037563376726020

 

[YSTrains]

I went to the station last Sunday. Why does it say Luton DART Parkway? Will there be a name change?

 

[Edvid]

Possibly. For what it's worth, the airport station is named Luton DART Terminal.

Picture provided by Paul Baralos

 

[pdeaves]

I went to the station last Sunday. Why does it say Luton DART Parkway? Will there be a name change?

Please could you clarify? Which 'it' do you refer to? Do the platform name boards now say 'Luton DART Parkway'?

 

[edwin_m]

Possibly. For what it's worth, the airport station is named Luton DART Terminal.

Picture provided by Paul Baralos

Whose idea was it to put "Special Assistance" in yellow? I thought on the rail network yellow was reserved for exits.

 

[jhy44]

Great to hear this is nearing completion.

I flew into Luton on Sunday for the first time. I had to wait 60 minutes to get a shuttle bus from the airport to Parkway station, as the queue of passengers was 400+, the bus was only turning up every 15-20 minutes, and it took 10 mins + to load, as the driver slowly inspected/sold tickets to passengers who often had poor command of English and found the difference between a train ticket to 'Luton Airport' and 'Luton Airport Parkway' incredibly confusing.

It meant a total journey time from outside airport departures to London St Pancras of almost * 2 hours 30 *, as the the bus delay meant we missed the EMR, and then had to wait 20 mins for Thameslink which stopped everywhere. Easily my worst ever UK airport experience and I'd rather pay £100/£200 extra in future to fly into any other London airport than Luton to avoid that chaos again, and I know most people in London feel the same way.

This DART link cannot come soon enough if it means fellow Londoners will consider de-blacklisting Luton as an airport option.

 

[bspahh]

I flew into Luton on Sunday for the first time. I had to wait 60 minutes to get a shuttle bus from the airport to Parkway station, as the queue of passengers was 400+, the bus was only turning up every 15-20 minutes, and it took 10 mins + to load, as the driver slowly inspected/sold tickets to passengers who often had poor command of English and found the difference between a train ticket to 'Luton Airport' and 'Luton Airport Parkway' incredibly confusing.

Google Maps says its 25 minutes to walk from Luton Airport to Luton Airport Parkway!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Google Maps says its 25 minutes to walk from Luton Airport to Luton Airport Parkway!

It's probably 15-20 at a brisk walk then, similar to Glasgow Airport to Paisley G S, which I consider to be a fairly easy walk?

 

[modernrail]

I have no idea why the airport authorities have consistently failed to get a grip of the shuttle bus over the years. They might not even have needed the DART if they had put some effort into dealing with the disgrace that is First Bus. They should have sent them packing a long time ago and brought in an outfit that can run a very simple service without all the rude, grumpy, aggressive, inefficient nonsense that leaves you feeling like a a paying criminal rather than a valued passenger at a reasonably large international airport.

I so blacklist Luton because of that bloody shuttle bus as to most of my friends.

Mind you the terminal is not much better. The travel desk is useless, rude and pointless and the ticket machines totally lacking in explanation, and they try and sell you more expensive tickets than you need. There is also a total lack of staff to help in general around the place and the border hall is a disgrace.

I am surprised they went straight from the bad bus to a very expensive fixed shuttle rather than trying to fix the basics but I suspect it will make Luton a bit of a better prospect. Won’t sort out the nonsense in the terminal though.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Great to hear this is nearing completion.

I flew into Luton on Sunday for the first time. I had to wait 60 minutes to get a shuttle bus from the airport to Parkway station, as the queue of passengers was 400+, the bus was only turning up every 15-20 minutes, and it took 10 mins + to load, as the driver slowly inspected/sold tickets to passengers who often had poor command of English and found the difference between a train ticket to 'Luton Airport' and 'Luton Airport Parkway' incredibly confusing.

It meant a total journey time from outside airport departures to London St Pancras of almost * 2 hours 30 *, as the the bus delay meant we missed the EMR, and then had to wait 20 mins for Thameslink which stopped everywhere. Easily my worst ever UK airport experience and I'd rather pay £100/£200 extra in future to fly into any other London airport than Luton to avoid that chaos again, and I know most people in London feel the same way.

This DART link cannot come soon enough if it means fellow Londoners will consider de-blacklisting Luton as an airport option.

Luton is my local airport, however I almost always fly from Heathrow, even when I could fly from Luton because the thought of using Luton Airport is too depressing

 

[edwin_m]

Google Maps says its 25 minutes to walk from Luton Airport to Luton Airport Parkway!

That sounds about right, though I've only done it once and I did have an overnight stop on the way. But given the height difference, the walk in the other direction would probably take most people much longer, especially with luggage.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That sounds about right, though I've only done it once and I did have an overnight stop on the way. But given the height difference, the walk in the other direction would probably take most people much longer, especially with luggage.

I have used the Arriva bus to the back of the station a number of times now. I wouldn't blame First for the bus shuttle, it has never been good whoever has operated it.

 

[edwin_m]

I have used the Arriva bus to the back of the station a number of times now. I wouldn't blame First for the bus shuttle, it has never been good whoever has operated it.

Every time I've gone for the shuttle it has arrived reasonably quickly and had space for everyone waiting to board. Not particularly pleasant but it doesn't take long, and sometimes (at the time) with the added interest of seeing why the Wrights ftr was such a bad idea. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

If they hadn't built the DART then it would have been a good idea to make a bus turning circle on the north side and direct airport passengers to a revamped north side exit instead of the cramped concourse and forecourt.

 

[Bletchleyite]

When busy it is horrible. Fundamentally the issue is that it is done on the cheap. One more vehicle in the circuit and it would be far less unpleasant.

 

[Bald Rick]

Great to hear this is nearing completion.

I flew into Luton on Sunday for the first time. I had to wait 60 minutes to get a shuttle bus from the airport to Parkway station, as the queue of passengers was 400+, the bus was only turning up every 15-20 minutes, and it took 10 mins + to load, as the driver slowly inspected/sold tickets to passengers who often had poor command of English and found the difference between a train ticket to 'Luton Airport' and 'Luton Airport Parkway' incredibly confusing.

It meant a total journey time from outside airport departures to London St Pancras of almost * 2 hours 30 *, as the the bus delay meant we missed the EMR, and then had to wait 20 mins for Thameslink which stopped everywhere. Easily my worst ever UK airport experience and I'd rather pay £100/£200 extra in future to fly into any other London airport than Luton to avoid that chaos again, and I know most people in London feel the same way.

This DART link cannot come soon enough if it means fellow Londoners will consider de-blacklisting Luton as an airport option.

that is very unusual.

I have used Luton twice in the last two weeks, and the shuttle bus has been fine. I did touchdown to Parkway in 40 minutes, and that included Gate 1 to immigration (a long walk!) bags and the bus.

in the past 20 years of regular use (getting on for 100 times) I have never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a shuttle bus.

I’d be interested to see how you conclude that ‘most people in London feel the same way’, as Luton has become a much more popular airport in the last 5 years.

 

[Backroom_boy]

I am surprised they went straight from the bad bus to a very expensive fixed shuttle rather than trying to fix the basics but I suspect it will make Luton a bit of a better prospect. Won’t sort out the nonsense in the terminal though.

Yes it's a big jump but I honestly think once it's open it will be the best budget airline experience in London. If you have booked everything online, the limited administration at the terminal won't be an issue.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes it's a big jump but I honestly think once it's open it will be the best budget airline experience in London. If you have booked everything online, the limited administration at the terminal won't be an issue.

A tiny number of people will use airport ticket desks. It is surprising they even still exist - most people would, even if making a completely ad-hoc trip, check on their computer or phone for a flight, not least so they would know the flight existed from that airport, and perhaps compare prices with other airports nearby.

 

[Bald Rick]

Yes it's a big jump but I honestly think once it's open it will be the best budget airline experience in London. If you have booked everything online, the limited administration at the terminal won't be an issue.

agreed, and the terminal just isn’t an issue, to be honest. I haven’t had a problem in the terminal for over a decade, even all through the building works. Perhaps I’ve just been lucky, for about 100 times in a row.

 

[Bletchleyite]

agreed, and the terminal just isn’t an issue, to be honest. I haven’t had a problem in the terminal for over a decade, even all through the building works. Perhaps I’ve just been lucky, for about 100 times in a row.

I don't recall ever having a problem in the terminal, and I've used it for roughly 150 arrivals and departures. In my experience Stansted is worse in every possible way. Sure, Heathrow T5 and the Queen's Terminal are better, but Heathrow is a premium airport, not a budget one, and TBH I'd rate Luton over Heathrow T4 and over what was there before T5 was built.

About the only major criticism I can make of it is there is, in the morning, a slight shortage of toilet cubicles. Overall I quite like it, to be honest.

 

[edwin_m]

I was a fairly frequent user of Luton from 2015 until 2018 and never had a major problem with the terminal (or the shuttle bus, see above). The main waiting area was a little crowded and some of the older gates (to the left) were pretty spartan.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I was a fairly frequent user of Luton from 2015 until 2018 and never had a major problem with the terminal (or the shuttle bus, see above). The main waiting area was a little crowded and some of the older gates (to the left) were pretty spartan.

The Ryanair gates in the original terminal were a bit of a hike and Gate 19 was the famous "speedy standing in the cold" gate with the waiting area being outside. But other than that I'd rate it over London City, which was good when it had 10 gates but is now severely overcrowded at busy times as they expanded the gates but didn't really expand the terminal.

With the opening of the shuttle it'll actually be as convenient for the City as LCY is, in some ways more so depending exactly where you are. LCY isn't a long way from Bank but the DLR is grindingly slow.

 

[Mollman]

I have no idea why the airport authorities have consistently failed to get a grip of the shuttle bus over the years.

Because the shuttle is part of the Thameslink Franchise rather than being let by the airport.

 

[Bald Rick]

Because the shuttle is part of the Thameslink Franchise rather than being let by the airport.

it was quite amusing to see the bidders proposals for this at the last refranchise. All identified the shuttle in FCC days as needing upgrading, and all proposed to upgrade it, for example with higher quality vehicles.

In other news, the shuttle bus I travelled on last week had the reg T1 FCC….

 

[Bletchleyite]

it was quite amusing to see the bidders proposals for this at the last refranchise. All identified the shuttle in FCC days as needing upgrading, and all proposed to upgrade it, for example with higher quality vehicles.

In other news, the shuttle bus I travelled on last week had the reg T1 FCC….

I always find it amusing when you see personalised plates on old buses being used on poor services. It demonstrates nicely that the operator has their priorities utterly wrong.

it was quite amusing to see the bidders proposals for this at the last refranchise. All identified the shuttle in FCC days as needing upgrading, and all proposed to upgrade it, for example with higher quality vehicles.

In other news, the shuttle bus I travelled on last week had the reg T1 FCC….

If it had stayed I'm not sure why it makes sense to keep the rail operator responsible. Why not just let the airport deal with it? They already have a large bus operation for their car parks.