CAA surface access data for main English airports
The Civil Aviation Authority reports annually on the results of its continuing survey at major airports: in particular, it tabulates surface access mode share.
Note that this is the final mode rather than the main mode, so someone driving from Birmingham to Slough then catching a train would be recorded as a train passenger.
In 2025, the rail mode was the highest ever at Stansted, Manchester and Luton - the latter probably because of the heavily-marketed DART automated people-mover replacing the bus shuttle.
The share of rail and public transport in total was the highest ever at London City Airport.
At Birmingham, the rail mode share was nearly the lowest for 15 years: it was 14.0% in 2024.
East Midlands Airport has a bus shuttle from a local Parkway station as well as from nearby towns: its bus share was higher than before.
The Heathrow split between rail and tube/subway is suspect: Heathrow Express is generally reckoned to have a 6%-10% share.
The column for the car mode share in 2000 was added by IARO: some of the comparisons are quite interesting.
One table in the report shows public transport mode share by quarter: the percentage is lower by 5pp in quarters 2 and 3 than in quarters 1 and 4. Curious – explanations welcome.
Former IARO Chairman Paul Le Blond suggests one reason: the percentage of foreign and business users is lower in those two quarters, and they are more likely to use public transport.
He adds that while the percentages are lower, the absolute numbers are higher because there are more air passengers in those quarters. Notes of a previous report are in IARO Express 601.
Source IARO analysis of CAA data
Major construction starts at Toronto’s future Woodbine Station
Crews are building station platforms for a station at Woodbine, north of Toronto’s Pearson Airport at Woodbine Racetrack (which is being redeveloped for commercial uses). It will replace the nearby Etobicoke North Station, which lacks the capacity to accommodate future growth along the line.
This comes after site clearing, grading and excavation, which began last year, as well as the completion of a temporary track separation and two access bridges that paved the way for platform construction.
The new station will include island platforms, a bus loop connecting riders to local transit, dedicated parking, pedestrian bridges and fully accessible, barrier-free facilities.
It will be served by the Kitchener GO Line, Union-Pearson (UP) Express and regional transit services across Toronto, York Region, Brampton and Mississauga.
The direct link between the development area and the airport will be beneficial, but adding another stop to UP Express trains makes them less attractive to passengers. IARO Express 577 reported on plans for removing some of the intermediate stops.
A previous report was in IARO Express 647.
Woodbine Racecourse, from a UP Express train
Sources Construction Connect (canada.constructconnect.com ) and the IARO database
Phased introduction of bank card transport payments starts in Paris
According to Île-de-France Mobilités (IdFM), the phased deployment will prioritise tourist-heavy routes.
Metro Line 1 was to be equipped during July 2027, with lines 4, 14, 15 and 18 to receive bank card validators by the end of 2027. Lines 7 and 12 will follow by the end of 2028, ahead of a full network rollout by 2030.
On board Paris Metro Line 14 to Orly Airport in Paris
The system is designed primarily for tourists, 500 000 of whom use the Paris public transport network every day, equating to 5% of all ridership. Bank card validation will provide an alternative to the Navigo Easy pass and digital wallets. However, a surcharge is added for bank card transactions. For a bus or funicular trip, an additional €0.50 is charged (giving a €2.55 flat fare). Metro, main line rail or RER trips will be €0.80 more expensive by bank card, priced at €3.35. Fares to the airports are also charged €0.80 extra, costing €14.80 at 2026 prices.
Payment terminals at the Orly Airport station have been operational since June 30 2026 to ‘facilitate the exit of tourists’, and on the Montmartre Funicular since July 8.
The introduction of bank card payments forms part of a broader ticketing strategy. Paper tickets have not been accepted on trams and buses since May 1 2026. They can still be used on the metro and rail network, but this acceptance will cease later this year. Contactless bank card payments are already available on Parisian bus routes.
Currently, 99.9% of ticket validations on the IdFM network are carried out digitally by a Navigo Easy card or a smartphone, with 600 million digital tickets sold annually. To make bank payments possible, IdFM has allocated an estimated €140m for hardware and back-office systems. Additionally, the annual operating cost, including bank commissions and asset maintenance, is projected at €25m.
The transport authority says that the roll-out of bank card transactions will not create additional costs for local people. IdFM anticipates that selling approximately 60 million journeys by bank card annually, with the surcharge, will allow for a rapid return on investment.
Source Railway Gazette (railwaygazette.com )
Seoul City Air Terminal upgraded
Seoul’s Airport Railroad completed a full overhaul of the City Air Terminal at Seoul Station this summer, upgrading its facilities and operations to improve the passenger experience. The renovation introduces a queue management system and smart baggage scales, and expands waiting areas to streamline the check-in process and create a more comfortable travel environment.
The renovated city air terminal at Seoul Station operated by Airport Railroad
Seoul Station City Air Terminal allows passengers taking the non-stop Airport Railroad express train to complete airline check-in, baggage drop and immigration clearance before heading to Incheon International Airport. The upgrade was driven by rising passenger numbers. Last year, about 2.66 million passengers used the Airport Railroad’s express train — an increase of more than 35% compared with 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Annual users of the City Air Terminal have also exceeded 470,000 and continue to grow. During peak travel periods such as the Lunar New Year holiday and Japanese public holidays, daily visitors have exceeded 2,000, exposing the limits of the terminal.
The most significant change is the introduction of a queue management system. Passengers select their airline at a kiosk, receive a numbered ticket and then check a display in the waiting area to see when they are called. Travelers no longer need to stand in long lines in front of check-in counters, and can use their waiting time for currency exchange, meals or other errands.
The baggage drop process has also been simplified. Newly installed smart baggage scales let passengers check their luggage weight before reaching the counter, allowing them to identify overweight bags in advance. The change is expected to reduce cases where passengers decide to repack at the counter, cutting delays during check-in.
Passenger flow through the terminal has also been made more intuitive. Numbered step-by-step signage now guides travelers along the main route — from the customer service center through the currency exchange, check-in counters and immigration desks to the express train gate — making it easy for first-time users to navigate in sequence.
The use of space has changed as well. A former staff meeting room has been converted into a passenger waiting area, and part of an open zone was reconfigured to create additional space for express train passengers. Barriers and gate positions were also adjusted to separate waiting areas from check-in areas, improving the overall flow of passenger movement.
IARO Express 666 reported on plans to acquire new trains to strengthen the service.
Source Herald Corp (biz.heraldcorp.com )
Düsseldorf’s remotely-controlled shuttle vehicle trial
Over six weeks this summer, Düsseldorf Airport ran a test of remotely-operated shuttle buses between the terminals and the main-line station, some 2.5km distant. The pilot began on July 13, with Düsseldorf Airport, local public transport operator Rheinbahn together with Rheinmetall and its subsidiary MIRA, jointly evaluating the deployment of remotely supervised and operated vehicles under real operating conditions. The area surrounding Düsseldorf Airport provided an ideal environment for testing innovative mobility solutions. With its high traffic density, diverse mobility requirements, and seamless interaction between a wide range of transportation modes - from e-scooters to the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 - it offered a uniquely demanding real-world operating environment.
The shuttle vehicles – battery-powered minibuses - operated between the airport railway station and the terminal area. The pilot was designed to evaluate them under everyday operating conditions and gather experience for their potential future deployment. Key areas of focus included the operational performance in real traffic, integration into existing transportation networks, operational safety, system reliability, and acceptance among passengers and professional drivers.
This form of operation has the potential to serve as an important stepping stone toward increasingly automated mobility services in the future. The insights gained during the pilot will help assess the potential for future public transportation applications as well as internal operational use cases, such as vehicle movements within transit depots.
The shuttle vehicles are remotely operated from a control centre located at the EUREF Campus Düsseldorf. The project is testing remote control, not autonomous vehicles: in the trial, each vehicle had its own operator although it is hoped to move to one person operating multiple vehicles in future. Throughout the pilot, a trained safety operator remained on board each vehicle and could assume control at any time if necessary. The safety of all road users is the project's highest priority.
Members of the public were invited to ride the shuttle free of charge throughout the pilot and experience the technology firsthand. It operated between Düsseldorf Airport Railway Station and the airport terminals, with stops at the Airport Railway Station (EUREF Campus), Mündelheimer Weg, Lichtenbroich Quartier, Airport – Hall 7 and Airport Terminal B/C.
The pilot ran from July 13 to August 28, 2026 (and IARO could find no reports on its success). It is part of the Research Project Supporting the Future of Public Transportation (PoQuaSIA), which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the European Next Generation Cloud and Infrastructure Initiative (8ra). The project's objective is to develop a secure, high-performance digital infrastructure for safety-critical applications. Together, the project partners are evaluating how vehicles like this can help strengthen and advance future public transportation services.
The system would supplement the existing automated people-mover between airport and main station
IARO Express 593 discussed the problem of fitting light rail into the airport.
Sources Rhein Metall (click HERE (rheinmetall.com. Rheinmetall press release 13/7/26 accessed 15/7/26) ). Tech Times (techtimes.com ), and the IARO database
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)