Benchmarking Airport Railways
IARO is exploring the establishment of a new project to benchmark airport railways, particularly Airport Express services.
Our last benchmarking study was undertaken in 2004. Although it was challenging, it produced valuable insights, and we are willing to take forward a new study if there is sufficient interest.
The project would need to address two fundamental questions:
* What information would participants find genuinely useful in identifying and motivating improvements?
* What information would they be willing and able to share?
Confidentiality will be an important consideration, especially for franchised operators and others holding commercially sensitive information. In the 2004 study, participants shared data openly within the group, while only a small, agreed - and heavily anonymised - subset was published externally.
Straightforward benchmarking could cover information such as: fares, journey times, route distances, service frequencies, operating hours, airport passenger volumes, service commencement dates and traction or energy sources.
Even these measures require careful definition: fares and journey times vary, frequencies and operating hours change, and airport statistics depend on the reporting period used.
Some measures may also need to be reconsidered to ensure that they support useful decisions. For example, rather than simply recording the first departure from the airport, the arrival time of the first city-to-airport train could indicate which early flights passengers can reasonably reach.
More detailed measures might include annual passenger numbers, service models, staffing, ownership, revenue, operating costs and profitability. Comparisons must, however, be interpreted carefully. Higher traincrew costs, for example, may reflect the provision of on-board customer assistance and revenue protection. Similarly, an operator maintaining the same frequency throughout the day may have higher costs but offer a clearer and more attractive customer proposition. Benchmarking should therefore help participants understand differences and identify worthwhile changes - not merely rank operators.
Some information may not be meaningful to collect. Infrastructure costs are a particular example because infrastructure is often shared, allocation conventions vary, and attributed costs may not reflect how expenditure would actually change if service levels were altered.
We would therefore like to hear from organisations interested in joining an IARO Work Group to consider:
* the purpose and scope of an Airport Railways Benchmarking 2026 project
* the measures that would provide useful and actionable comparisons
* consistent definitions and reporting periods
* confidentiality, anonymisation and data-sharing arrangements; and
* the information participants would be prepared to contribute.
If there is sufficient interest, IARO will issue a further message after next week’s Brussels Conference outlining the proposed next steps.
If your organisation may wish to participate, please reply to patrick.hicks@iaro.com (mailto:patrick.hicks@iaro.com) with an initial expression of interest; and, if possible, an indication of the information you would most value - and the information you would be prepared to share.
Madrid metro Line 11
The Comunidad de Madrid has approved an extension of metro Line 11 from Mar de Cristal to serve the northern suburban development area of Valdebebas Norte and Barajas airport.
The cost of building the 7.2 km extension is put at €880.5m, including new stations at IFEMA-Cárcavas, Ciudad de la Justicia, Hospital Isabel Zendal and Valdebebas Norte. There will be alterations to two existing stations at Mar de Cristal (served by lines 4 and 8) and Aeropuerto T4 (Line 8, RENFE suburban service C-1 and future high speed services). Line 11 currently runs for 8.5 km from La Fortuna to Plaza Elíptica with seven stations. A 6.6 km extension from Plaza Elíptica to Conde de Casal is under construction for completion in late 2027 or early 2028.
A planned 2.2 km extension from La Fortuna to Cuatro Vientos is being redesigned, as the Ministry of Defence objected to the original scheme which involved tunnelling beneath the Cuatro Vientos airfield and demolishing a number of buildings.
Once the entire Line 11 plan is completed, it will be a diagonal route linking southern districts, including Carabanchel, with fast-growing areas in the north without every journey having to go through the city centre. The environmental payoff could be meaningful, but only if construction safeguards hold and enough travelers leave their cars at home.
Work is already underway between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal, where the tunnel boring machine has reached the future Madrid Río station. The full vision stretches roughly 33km from Cuatro Vientos to Valdebebas, with the northern works previously scheduled to begin in 2027 and finish in 2031.
This is not a pure climate project. The line is also designed to serve an airport, an expanding convention center, the future MADRING Formula 1 circuit, a hospital, a justice complex, and one of Madrid’s largest residential growth areas. Putting those destinations on one rail corridor gives people an alternative to driving (okdiario.com) . The announcement did not include a ridership forecast, an estimate of avoided car trips, or a quantified reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. That missing data matters. Road transport generated 73% of European Union transport greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, while the European Environment Agency says public modes including metros generally use less energy or produce lower emissions for each passenger-mile than cars. A new subway can help, but the result depends on train frequency, fares, transfer times, station access, and
the amount of development built around it.
Madrid’s environmental authority concluded that the selected route was not expected to cause significant adverse environmental effects, provided the required preventive and corrective measures are followed. The approved framework calls for construction sites to be reviewed to minimize damage to trees and existing green areas. It also prioritizes reusing soil excavated from the project, restoring affected land, and controlling impacts on air, water, soil, wildlife (okdiario.com) , vegetation, waste, and the surrounding landscape. An environmental monitoring programme is required during the work. The project promoter must also prepare annual reports showing whether the conditions in the environmental assessment are being met, giving residents and regulators a paper trail to follow. Tree impacts have already prompted design changes on the southern Line 11
works.
The economic logic is easy to see. IFEMA, the airport, the future court complex, the Zendal hospital, and Valdebebas are major destinations, while the MADRING circuit is likely to create sharp travel peaks on event days. The extension could make those growth centres less dependent on parking and road capacity. On the other hand, better access may also accelerate development, which is why Madrid should measure the line’s full effect rather than treating every new passenger as an automatic climate win.
The government’s decision authorizes the contracting of the works, so it does not mean tunneling starts tomorrow. Procurement, final construction planning, and compliance with the environmental conditions still have to move forward before the northern section becomes a building site.
Line 11 could become a greener mobility backbone (okdiario.com) for Madrid if the region reports clear results on ridership, car use, energy consumption, excavated material, tree survival, dust, and noise. For now, the route and its environmental rulebook are approved.
Sources Railway Gazette (railwaygazette.com )
Hefei airport line S1
Heifei is the capital of China’s Anhui province: it lies about 300km west of Shanghai.
Suburban Line S1 will connect the city and its airport. It is in the final stages of construction, and should open soon. It runs northwest from the city (Heifeixi Railway Station) to Xinqiao Airport and on to Shouxian. It will be 47·5 km long, with 14 stations, and is currently undergoing final testing for opening later in 2026.
The line is automated to level GoA4 (with no need for drivers or on-board staff). The line completes the city’s Phase III expansion.
The 23km Dark Red Line 8 of the metro is also planned to provided an express service to the airport, with one intermediate stop.
Sources Railway Gazette (railwaygazette.com ) and the IARO database
London City Airport may get a shuttle bus to Elizabeth line station
London City Airport is exploring a plan to launch a shuttle bus service to connect the airport directly to Custom House station, on the Elizabeth Line and the Beckton branch of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).
Although the majority of passengers travel to the airport by public transport, it currently has only a connection on the Woolwich branch of the DLR. A six-minute shuttle bus to Custom House would give Elizabeth line passengers an easier journey to the airport and connect them to another line of the DLR.
Last December, London City Airport laid out its travel plan for 2026-2028, which involved progressing a business case for the proposal. Another transport report published at the same time noted the benefits of this scheme, along with the potential for an early-morning shuttle service from a key area near the airport to improve links before the DLR opens. The same report outlining City Airport’s transport strategy until 2031 stated that the airport would need to conduct market studies to assess whether these projects are viable.
More than two-thirds of the airport’s passengers already use public transport. Better connectivity between the airport and Custom House has the potential to deliver wider benefits for the Royal Docks, strengthening links to the Elizabeth line, ExCeL London and local businesses.
IARO has long believed that there should be a station for the airport on the Elizabeth line, which runs relatively close. It would provide a direct link to central London and Heathrow.
IARO Report 25.18 discusses the issue in detail.
Custom House station. The DLR platforms are on the right and the Elizabeth Line on the left.
Sources MyLondon (mylondon.news ) and the IARO database
Denver upgrades its automated people-mover
Denver International Airport recently received the final Innovia APM R train car that was part of an initial order to modernise the airport’s Automated Guideway Transit System (AGTS) fleet. The order for 26 cars represents a $78.85 million investment in the system and replaces vehicles dating back to the airport’s construction in 1995. It also expands the fleet to accommodate additional passengers as the airport continues to grow.
Last year, the airport purchased 19 additional Innovia APM R cars, which are due for delivery in 2027 and 2028. This second order will replace the remaining 15 legacy vehicles in the fleet and prepare the system for planned capacity and resiliency upgrades in the coming years.
Denver put the first new Innovia APM R into service in 2024: 24 have been added into service to date. 45 new cars will replace all 31 original cars and expand the fleet. With the introduction of the new cars, Denver increased system capacity by approximately 1700 people/hour and reduced the time between trains. The new cars are more energy efficient because of their lightweight aluminum car bodies, assembled using recyclable materials, and more efficient power supplies.
In addition to replacing and upgrading its fleet, the airport is in the early stages of a comprehensive AGTS Revitalization Program. This will replace and upgrade aging infrastructure, including guideway switches (points), signaling software and the train’s power distribution system. The revitalisation programme will also include expansion of the train’s maintenance facility to accommodate the expanded fleet and improve operational and maintenance efficiencies.
Denver International Airport
Source Denver International Airport (flydenver.com )
IARO heads to Hong Kong for Super Terminal Expo
IARO will be participating in Super Terminal Expo 2026 in Hong Kong from 3–5 November, bringing airport-rail connectivity firmly into the discussion at one of Asia-Pacific’s major events for the future of passenger terminals, transport and infrastructure.
Taking place at AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong, Super Terminal Expo will bring together airport authorities, transport operators, infrastructure specialists, technology providers and other industry stakeholders to examine the next generation of terminal development and connectivity.
IARO members interested in giving a presentation or participating in the panel discussion are encouraged to get involved. Please contact Patrick at patrick@iaro.com (mailto:patrick@iaro.com) if you would like to discuss taking part.
3–5 November 2026 | AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong
Find out more about Super Terminal Expo 2026 (superterminalexpo.com)
Less than 1 Week to Go
IARO 2026 Air-Rail Conference and Networking Meeting - Brussels Airport, 7-8 October
mcusercontent.com than 1 week to go until the IARO 2026 Air-Rail Conference and Networking Meeting, hosted by Brussels Airport on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October.
The two-day programme will bring together IARO members and industry stakeholders for airport and facility visits, conference sessions, panel discussions and networking, with a strong focus on the future development of air-rail and intermodal transport.
Participation is free of charge for IARO Members, but advance registration is essential.
Register HER (eventbrite.co.uk) E (eventbrite.co.uk)