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.
** Plus - Industry Comment:
“The real barrier isn't the train. It's the suitcase.
Rail link to EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (https://travelmole.com/news/basel-mulhouse-airport-temporary-flights-reduction/) : off again!
EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg celebrated its 80th anniversary in early May. Since opening in 1946, the EuroAirport (www.euroairport.com/) has become a good example of cross-border cooperation, serving Switzerland, France and Germany from a single site on French territory.
A temporary runway was built after the end of World War II allowing the first civil aircraft to land on 2 May 1946. The airport was formally inaugurated six days later, built on what was then considered both a pragmatic and visionary concept: creating a shared airport infrastructure for the trinational Upper Rhine region.
Over the decades, the EuroAirport has grown into a major economic and transportation hub connecting the region to destinations across Europe and beyond while supporting thousands of jobs on both sides of the border.
Today, the airport is entering another major development phase. EuroAirport is investing more than €600 million in a long-term modernisation programme aimed at upgrading infrastructure, improving passenger experience and supporting more sustainable operations. However, as the airport looks to the future, one strategic infrastructure project has once again stalled: the planned rail link connecting the airport directly to regional train networks in Switzerland and France.
The idea of connecting EuroAirport to the rail network is almost as old as the airport itself. For more than seven decades, politicians, transport planners and regional authorities in France and Switzerland have discussed a direct train link to the airport. Yet the project has repeatedly faced delays, redesigns and funding challenges.
Early concepts emerged in the 1950s, proposing a railway spur from the existing Strasbourg–Basel rail corridor near Saint-Louis in France directly into the airport grounds: the airport is clearly visible from the railway. However, at the time, road access and private car ownership were expanding rapidly across Europe, reducing the urgency for a rail solution.
The project returned to the political agenda in the 1980s as congestion around Basel intensified and environmental concerns became more prominent. As EuroAirport was growing into a major international gateway for the region, authorities in Switzerland and France increasingly viewed a rail link as essential for sustainable mobility and for strengthening cross-border commuting. Studies during the 1990s explored integrating the airport into the future trinational Basel commuter train system network, allowing direct services from Basel, Mulhouse and Freiburg.
By the 2000s, the rail connection evolved into a concrete infrastructure proposal known as the “Nouvelle Liaison Ferroviaire EuroAirport” (NLF EA).
The plan includes a new 6km rail branch, a station directly underneath or adjacent to the airport terminal, connections to the French national rail network, and integration with Basel’s regional S-Bahn services, particularly routes S2 (being planned) and S4 (extension planned). The tram from Basel to Saint Louis Gare (in France) may be extended to the airport: points have been installed at the station to facilitate the extension. The objective is to allow passengers and airport employees to reach the airport directly by train without changing modes of transport.
BVB tram in Basel
Over the last two decades, the project received backing from regional governments in France, Switzerland and from German regional authorities in Baden-Württemberg. Swiss officials, especially in Basel, have consistently argued the rail connection is critical to reducing road congestion and lowering carbon emissions around the airport.
Yet despite political support, the project has repeatedly stalled due to complex binational governance, environmental procedures, rising construction costs and disagreements over financing responsibilities.
Originally estimated at around €100 million, costs have since risen to approximately €436 million. A Swiss railway official expressed horror to your editor on finding out that French Railways had a different timetable for each day of the week on this line!
Last year, French authorities announced a temporary suspension of their financial participation in the project, citing severe public budget constraints. Officials said the decision was intended to help secure additional European Union funding rather than abandon the project altogether.
The rail link had previously been expected to open around 2034–2035. Uncertainty now surrounds a possible opening date.
IARO Express 365 had an earlier report.
CPK to launch tender for trains for future Polish airport
Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), the body responsible for implementing Port Polska, the central Poland airport project, has announced that a tender will be launched later this year for the procurement of AeroExpress trains capable of speeds of up to 200 km/h.
Preparations are currently underway for a newly established rolling stock company to launch a tender later this year to procure the rolling stock for the Warsaw–Airport–Łódź sector. The trains will provide express services between Warsaw, the new airport, and Łódź and are expected to serve 30,000 passengers a day by 2035, according to the latest forecasts.
They will fulfill three main roles - airport access for passengers, daily commuter service between Warsaw and Łódź, and transportation for airport staff and employees in the airport’s extended operational area.
The schedule proposed includes stops at Warsaw Central, Warsaw West, the airport, Brzeziny, Łódź Widzew, and Łódź Niciarniana, as well as at all stations in the urban tunnel between Łódź Fabryczna and Łódź Kaliska. This would ensure travel times competitive with other modes of transport, including a 22 minute ride between Warsaw and the airport.
AeroExpress services are designed to become the primary mode of transport on the route between Warsaw, the new airport, and Łódź. Trains will run every 15 minutes on the Warsaw East–Airport section and every 30 minutes on the Warsaw East–Łódź route. The schedule will reflect the needs of residents and passengers, as well as airport employees and those traveling at night, including passengers on night flights and shift workers. This will further strengthen the connections between Warsaw and Łódź.
IARO Express 677 had a progress report on the project.
Source RailwayPro (www.railwaypro.com/wp/poland-to-launch-… )
Ahmedabad Metro link to airport approved
Phase 2a of the Ahmedabad Metro project, a 6km stretch connecting city and its current airport (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International), is expected to be completed within four years and will have four elevated stations and one underground station. With Ahmedabad preparing to host the Commonwealth Games 2030 (www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/2030…) , the Union Cabinet recently approved a 21,690m rupees metro extension connecting Koteshwar Road to the airport to strengthen the city’s transport infrastructure ahead of the event.
Following the completion of the project, the total metro network in Ahmedabad will be 78 km long. The new line is expected to provide fast connectivity between Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, GIFT City and the airport.
The government said the metro extension will serve as an important mode of transport during the Commonwealth Games, facilitating the movement of athletes, officials and visitors. The corridor will also be integrated with other transport systems, including railways, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed train and bus terminals.
In addition, the project will improve connectivity to residential, industrial and commercial hubs in Sardar Nagar, Koteshwar, Bhat and the Sabarmati Riverfront area. It is expected to generate employment for around 2,500 people and support planned urban development around the proposed sports complex and related infrastructure.
A new airport (Fedara Dholera International) is nearing completion: a 2015 report said it would have a dedicated rail link (as noted in IARO Express 142). The first test flight landed in early June: the airport is forecast to become operational in October.
Sources Travel and Tour World (www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article… ) and the IARO database
Salt Lake City service to expand
The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is planning an expansion of its airport service.
The Green Line has connected the airport (north west of the city) with the city centre and the West Valley (south west of the city) since April 2013.
Now, UTA is planning for a second service - the new Orange Line, which should start service by 2032 (in time for the 2034 Winter Olympics). This will connect the airport with the University of Utah, east of the city. It is likely to use an alternative route through the downtown area, and options for this are under study.
UTA train near the University terminus of the Red Line
IARO Express 685 reported on plans for new trains.
** Industry Comment:
** The real barrier isn't the train. It's the suitcase.
We liked the following LinkedIn post by Randel Darby, (www.linkedin.com/in/randeldarby/) CEO and Founder at Airportr, whose service we have reported on before (see, for example IARO Express 559). Similar services exist elsewhere (like alltheway, in Paris), or have operated in the past. We documented some in IARO Report 10.07 on off-airport check-in.
“If you dropped someone at Gatwick this January, it cost you £10, the highest drop-off charge in the country. London City started charging for the first time in its history; Heathrow went up again. The reaction was predictable: another "kiss and fly" tax bolted onto an already expensive trip.
“I understand the anger. Nobody enjoys paying a tenner to stop the car for ninety seconds. But I want to make an argument a little out of step with the mood: the charges aren't the problem. The problem is that airports have only done half the job.
“(At this point - full disclosure: I run Airportr (www.airportr.com/) , a baggage-logistics tech business, so I have a stake in where this goes — but I'm writing because the data genuinely reframes the problem, not to ride the headlines and plug a product.
** “There's a real policy behind the price.
“Drop-off charges aren't just revenue. Airports sit under genuine, government-linked targets to move people out of private cars and onto public transport. Heathrow's Surface Access Strategy (www.heathrow.com/company/about-heathrow…) targets 45% of passengers arriving by public transport, up from around 37% in 2021; the government's draft expansion policy pushes for at least 50% by 2030 and 55% by 2040.
“These aren't vanity numbers. Heathrow handles around 85 million passengers a year, and even setting aside the roughly 20 million who are connecting and never leave the airport, that still leaves well over 65 million surface journeys, historically a majority by car or taxi. That's the congestion, emissions and air quality airports are held accountable for, and the drop-off charge is one lever they're pulling to change it.
“For proof that pricing changes behaviour, look a few miles up the road. London's congestion charge launched in 2003 at £5 and cut traffic in the zone by around 15% within a year. It hasn't stood still since: it has more than tripled, reaching £18 in January 2026, climbing faster than inflation over the period. Through all of it, the number of private cars entering central London has stayed structurally below its pre-charge level, even as the city's population grew by more than 20%. The deterrent held for two decades.
“But here's the part airports have skipped. The congestion charge didn't work because it was a charge. It worked because it came with a carrot: revenue ring-fenced straight back into buses and rail, road space handed over to public transport. The alternative to driving got materially better at exactly the moment driving got more expensive. Stick and carrot, together.
“Airports have borrowed that pricing playbook, and then some: Gatwick's drop-off fee doubled from £5 to £10 between 2021 and 2026 — a steeper climb in five years than the congestion charge managed in over twenty.
“To be fair, they haven't only raised charges. A £250m rebuild of Gatwick's railway station, backed by the airport alongside government, reopened in 2023; Heathrow gained a direct Elizabeth line connection in 2022. These are genuine improvements. But notice where they land: at the airport end of the journey, smoothing the train-to-terminal leg that was never the hard part. What they don't touch is the leg that decides whether someone takes the train at all — getting from home to the station, and onto a crowded service, dragging everything they're travelling with. If you want modal shift at scale, that's the leg you have to fix.
“And when you ask people why they drive to the airport, that's exactly where the answer sits: the bags.
** “The real barrier isn't the train. It's the suitcase.
“We ran primary research into this, and the finding was striking: luggage is the single biggest reason people stick with the car for airport journeys. Four in five private-car users we surveyed named it as the primary reason they don't switch to public transport. It isn't hard to see why — a suitcase through ticket barriers, up and down platform stairs, nowhere to store it on the train, and no racks at all on a packed Underground. Weighed down like that, the car simply wins.
“Take the bags out of the equation and the maths changes. Over the last twelve months, 52% of our customers travelled to the airport by public transport — and 85% of them say they switched because of the service. That's not a self-selecting group of committed train-takers; the bag service is what moved them. It also shows the targets aren't fanciful: 52% already clears the 50% the government wants by 2030, and closes in on the 55% pencilled in for 2040. The barrier was never really the train. It was always the suitcase.
“None of this is theoretical. In Switzerland we work with the national rail operator, SBB, on exactly this kind of integrated journey. A traveller can book the baggage service, the train and the flight in one place, with the boarding pass acting as a single identifier from home to gate; the bags move through the system on their own while the traveller goes hands-free by rail. And the incentive points the right way — the baggage service is subsidised when the traveller validates they've used public transport to or from the airport.
“Look at what that does. It doesn't just penalise the car; it rewards the train. The greener choice becomes the easier one and the cheaper one, in a single booking, with the friction designed out. That's a carrot aimed squarely at the leg that decides how people travel.
So here's my ask to airports and airlines: when you raise the drop-off charge, don't just announce the charge; announce the alternative alongside it. And back it with the money you're already raising. What made the congestion charge work is that the fee didn't just deter drivers; it funded the alternative, visibly.
“That's the answer to the complaint that airports simply hike the fee and pocket it: ring-fence the drop-off revenue, be transparent about where it goes, and channel it into a streamlined, bag-free public transport journey to and from the terminal — whether that's delivered by Airportr or by anyone else. The stick pays for the carrot.
“Switzerland shows this can be built for air travel — the model exists; it just needs to cross the Channel. Until it does, drop-off charges here in the UK will keep generating headlines and frustration. The lever works. It just needs something on the other end of it.”
Airportr near the ticket office at Heathrow Terminal 5.
Source Linkedin (www.linkedin.com/pulse/stick-without-ca… )