IARO Upcoming Events - Brussels and Hong Kong
IARO’s forthcoming programme offers two important opportunities for members to meet, share expertise and promote airport-rail connectivity internationally.
The IARO 2026 Air-Rail Conference and Networking Meeting, hosted by Brussels Airport on 7-8 October, will combine site visits, presentations and panel discussions on high-speed rail connections, technology and systems integration, and airport design and development. Participation is free for IARO members, although advance registration is essential.
Registration Available HERE (www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/iaro-2026-member…)
IARO will then participate in Super Terminal Expo, Hong Kong, from 3-5 November. On Wednesday 4 November, IARO will organise a 90-minute Air-Rail Forum featuring presentations and a moderated panel discussion on airport-rail links. Members interested in speaking or joining the panel should contact Patrick at patrick@iaro.com (mailto:patrick@iaro.com) . IARO will also have an exhibition stand, available as a meeting point for members and stakeholders, helping raise the profile of airport-rail connectivity within the international airport and transport community.
Cairo International Airport metro
Egypt’s Ministry of Transport is preparing to implement the fifth phase of the third metro line (www.egyptindependent.com/third-line-of-…) , a project aimed at connecting Cairo International Airport to the city by the metro network.
Cairo Airport
The new phase includes the construction of seven new stations along a 9.2-kilometer stretch, starting from Heliopolis station and ending at Cairo International Airport.
According to the National Authority for Tunnels, this phase will provide a direct connection between the heart of Cairo and its international airport, facilitating travel for passengers, airport staff, and surrounding residential areas, and significantly reducing travel time.
The third line is one of the most important of the Greater Cairo Metro network, extending from east to west and connecting vital areas such as Ataba, Nasser, Kit Kat, Cairo University, and Heliopolis. The fifth phase comes as part of an ambitious plan by the Egyptian government to develop the public transportation system, especially given the significant urban expansion in Greater Cairo and the New Administrative Capital.
A French-Egyptian consortium is expected to bid on the project, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the preparation of designs and the submission of technical and financial proposals.
The project has been under study for all of the current century. A 2003 call for tenders for a new Terminal 3 included provision of space for a metro station, which was reaffirmed in 2007 plans for the terminal.
Line 3 of the metro opened in phases from 2012: IARO Express 394 recorded the opening of phase 4a.
Sources Egypt Independent (www.egyptindependent.com/500m-new-metro… ) and the IARO database
Stansted Express weekend overnight service a success
In the first four weeks of the Stansted Express overnight trial, more than 1,000 additional journeys by rail have been recorded. This shows a real demand for late-night and early-morning airport rail connections.
Greater Anglia launched the summer trial (www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news-d…) on Friday 3 July, adding trains every Friday night into Saturday morning for the summer period until 25 September 2026. The extra services run at roughly 30-minute intervals between about 23:50 and 5:00. Most trains operate between Stansted Airport and Tottenham Hale, where passengers can transfer to the Victoria line Night Tube for journeys across London. Some early-morning services continue to or start from London Liverpool Street. Full details are on the Stansted Express website (see below).
The airport-to-Tottenham Hale section takes around 36 minutes, creating a rail option for passengers using late arrivals or the first Saturday departures. On Friday nights, the timetable also gives airport employees working late or early shifts another way to travel. Greater Anglia said these journeys were not possible by train before the trial.
After the first four weeks, Greater Anglia reported (www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news-d…) that passengers had made more than 1,000 additional journeys – 250 each night. The operator is monitoring how the trains are used in the early-morning hours and analysing travel patterns throughout the trial.
The overnight timetable remains a trial rather than a permanent service. Greater Anglia will use the collected data to assess demand and inform decisions about whether overnight Stansted Express trains could operate in the future.
The operator worked with Network Rail Anglia to adjust engineering plans where possible while protecting essential maintenance on this largely double-track route. The final scheduled Friday-night operation begins on 25 September and runs into the early hours of 26 September 2026, after which the results can be fully evaluated.
A Stadler Class 745/1 on a Stansted Express service at Stansted airport station.
Romania: Timișoara Airport link back on track?
The Timișoara airport link is planned to be a 5 km double-track electrified branch to the airport, along with enhancements to boost capacity over a 5 km section of the existing Timișoara Est – Radna line.
The European Union’s Recovery & Resilience Fund is being used to fund much-needed improvements in the Romanian rail network. Since its accession to the EU in 2007, Romania has had access to considerable amounts of funding to improve the quality of its rail network. Its railways are still characterised by a backlog of investment dating back to the years between the collapse of socialism and the arrival of EU money, and in many ways the contrast from famine to feast is still proving a tricky balancing act.
The Recovery Plan funding is being directed towards seven strategically important projects. These are: the modernisation of the Cluj-Napoca – Oradea – Episcopia Bihor route, estimated value €1·6bn; Craiova – Calafat upgrading, estimated value €600m; București Nord – Giurgiu Nord upgrading, estimated value €300m; Constanța – Mangalia upgrading; Arad – Timișoara – Caransebeș reconstruction; Brașov – Brașov airport — new line (see IARO Express 690); and Timișoara – Timișoara airport — new line. The deadline for completion of all these schemes is December 31 2026, in line with the Recovery Plan funding rules.
The airport has had a rail-connected fuel depot for many years. A decade ago, there were major studies into a rail-served cargo interchange at the airport – Cargo Tim (see IARO Express 102). In 2014, the city council decided to build a metro line to the airport. A 1.5km unelectrified heavy rail branch was proposed in 2019, and was included in Timisoara General Urban Plan.
Sources Railway Gazette (www.railwaygazette.com/infrastructure/2… ) and the IARO database
Local rail in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
At the end of 2024, the TEXRail service between Fort Worth and Dallas-Fort Worth Airport was doubled from hourly to half-hourly. TEXRail runs between Fort Worth and the airport: it opened in January 2019. Since 2000, Trinity Rail Express has served CentrePort station, where there is a bus shuttle to the airport.
CentrePort station, with passengers changing to the bus shuttle to the airport
Full Year (1/10 – 30/9) data from Trinity Metro shows the following results: the content of the 2026 data is uncertain.
IARO Express 650 recorded the opening of the Silver Line, running north-east from the airport.
Sources Tramways and Urban Transit, Trinity Metro and the IARO database
Korea’s multilingual public transportation guides for foreign visitors
As South Korea seeks to attract 30 million foreign travellers by 2030, the government has begun to expand infrastructure to increase convenience for visitors to the country.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced recently that they have created a public transportation information system for foreign visitors, including content on usage tips and how to make reservations for different modes of transport.
The information covers transportation routes from the airport to tourist attractions, payment method guides, and how to use related local apps for navigation, reserving railway tickets, hailing taxis and more.
The information is available in English, Japanese, and both simplified and traditional Chinese, and also features easy-to-understand images.
It has been posted on the VisitKorea website and will be distributed to tourist information centres nationwide. Advice on travelling to and from airports can be accessed from english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/main/index.do and selecting Transportation and Airport Guide.
The ministry said it will continue providing reliable multilingual information so foreign visitors can travel more conveniently and pleasantly during their stay.
Sources KBS World (world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?l… ) and the IARO database