Luton Dart: ‘the most expensive train in Britain’ opens for business

theguardian.com:

Seven years in the making, Luton airport’s long-anticipated light rail link finally opens to passengers next week – a swift connection that has, somewhat unfairly, been billed as the most expensive train in Britain.

As airport bosses promised, the gleaming new £290m Dart shuttle, accessed straight out of the adjacent Luton Parkway rail station, is a significant upgrade on the existing bus journey up the A1081, bringing the airport terminal to around a half-hour journey from central London on the fastest trains.

But at £4.90 for the 1,999 metre trip, the Luton Dart is pricey even by the standards of British rail fares (which rise by 5.9% this weekend). It appears to have ousted the notorious Heathrow Express transfer service as the most expensive by distance, at about £3.95 a mile.

An actual flight from Luton to Palma this month on easyJet, at £56 return, comes in at roughly a tenth of the Dart’s price a mile.

Even the Orient Express train from London to Venice – sleeping in a private cabin with steward service and sumptuous dining and fine wine included for the £4,500 ticket – only works out roughly double the price on mileage.

So are they making a killing on the Luton Dart? Graham Olver, the chief executive of Luton Rising, the council-owned company that runs the airport, argues not. “If you’re savvy, it’s £47.50 return for a family from central London. Blue badges holders, pensioners and airport workers go free.”

Olver urged a focus not on the cost but the value of the scheme: “We’re a massive social enterprise with a £2bn asset.”

According to East Midlands Railway, some advance tickets on the Luton Airport Express from London St Pancras, and including the Dart shuttle, will cost as little as £47.50 return for a family of