London has a new airport train that's even more expensive than the Heathrow Express per mile

Stephanie StaceyMar 12, 2023, 16:16 IST

The 1.25 mile Luton DART cost about $350 million to build.Luton Rising

A new rail service that connects Luton Airport to the train station 1.25 miles away is now running.
It costs £4.90 to ride the Luton DART, or about £3.90 ($4.70) per mile.

Travelers who thought taking the Heathrow Express from Paddington station was expensive can now enjoy an even more costly trip – per mile, at least.

The Luton DART, which finally connects Luton airport, just north of London, to its railway station started running a limited service on Friday. It costs £4.90 ($5.90) for a 1.25 mile ride, making it Britain's costliest per-mile rail journey.

It replaces an annoying bus journey and Luton Council argued that the line is good value for money.

A council representative told Time Out: "The fare is based on independent assessment and sound rationale, reflecting the value of time saved and convenience and the quality of what we are providing compared to what went before."

The service is expected to be fully operational by the end of March.

Take a look at the Luton DART.

The Luton DART takes passengers from Luton Parkway station to Luton Airport. It's operated by council-owned company Luton Rising, which runs the airport.

Luton Rising

Luton has long been considered London's most inconvenient airport. It's about 26 miles from St Pancras station and passengers had to take a bus from Luton Parkway station to get to the terminal.

Luton Rising

Luton has long been considered London's most inconvenient airport. It's about 26 miles from St Pancras station and passengers had to take a bus from Luton Parkway station to get to the terminal.

With a journey time of less than three minutes, the Luton DART will make that connection much faster.

Luton Rising

It costs about £3.90 ($4.70) per mile, overtaking the Heathrow Express that costs about £1.50 ($1.80) a mile, or £25 ($30) one-way for the 16.5 mile trip.

Luton Rising

It costs about £3.90 ($4.70) per mile, overtaking the Heathrow Express that costs about £1.50 ($1.80) a mile, or £25 ($30) one-way for the 16.5 mile trip.

It's technically not even a train but a funicular, which can handle the steep ascent to the airport.

Luton Rising

DART stands for Direct Air-Rail Transit.

Luton Rising

The rail service is electric and part of the council's bid to promote public transport and make Luton a carbon-neutral town by 2040.

Luton Rising

It took 7 years to complete the Luton DART, which was originally scheduled to open in 2021. The project cost around $350 million, and the high ticket price is intended to help the project break even.

Luton Rising

It took 7 years to complete the Luton DART, which was originally scheduled to open in 2021. The project cost around $350 million, and the high ticket price is intended to help the project break even.

On one of the service's trial runs, the seats at the end of the carriages were particularly popular.

Luton Rising

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London has a new airport train that's even more expensive than the Heathrow Express per mile

The Luton DART takes passengers from Luton Parkway station to Luton Airport. It's operated by council-owned company Luton Rising, which runs the airport.

Luton has long been considered London's most inconvenient airport. It's about 26 miles from St Pancras station and passengers had to take a bus from Luton Parkway station to get to the terminal.

With a journey time of less than three minutes, the Luton DART will make that connection much faster.

It costs about £3.90 ($4.70) per mile, overtaking the Heathrow Express that costs about £1.50 ($1.80) a mile, or £25 ($30) one-way for the 16.5 mile trip.

It's technically not even a train but a funicular, which can handle the steep ascent to the airport.

DART stands for Direct Air-Rail Transit.

The rail service is electric and part of the council's bid to promote public transport and make Luton a carbon-neutral town by 2040.

It took 7 years to complete the Luton DART, which was originally scheduled to open in 2021. The project cost around $350 million, and the high ticket price is intended to help the project break even.

On one of the service's trial runs, the seats at the end of the carriages were particularly popular.