I hope this will become more common here.
Now that Spirit Airlines is out of bankruptcy, they should pursue a similar partnership. When I stayed in WEST Palm last summer, traveling from Memphis, it was hard to beat $99 + $39 to get within 3 blocksâ walking distance of where I was staying.
Jet Blue and United Airlines have also formed a partnership.
I think long ago both Southwest and American Airlines poisioned the water a bit with airline to rail partnerships. I think United used to have an arrangement with Amtrak Fly one way and rail back or something along those lines. I am surprised why more airports are not connected by intercity passenger trains. I think the number is growing but very slowly and they always seem to take the cheap way out with an airport station stop with shuttle bus. Nobody can tunnel anymore in this country?
Sadly the construction costs for infrastructure per mile (per foot for bridges and tunnels) in the US seem to be much higher than in Europe. And our designs seem antiquated in appearance. Perhaps somebody can find data. Earlier I think someone posted comparison of HSR track, France vs here. Why this is?
Most airports of a size worth âdirectly connecting toâ are much more easily and positively served by suitable shuttle buses or PRT-like âpeople moversâ than they would be by heavy rail in a dedicated tunnel built to at least PRIIA standards with ventilation suitable for diesel exhaust. To justify the cost, you would need convenience of passengers with luggage able to easily access ticketing areas and enter âsecurityâ â something already âoptimizedâ from road access for all terminals, including where desirable local services and general aviation.
Waivers would be needed to operate anything other than heavy rail in that very expensive tunnel, at least during the window(s) of time on-time or late trains might be expected. The issue of suitably long platforms and terminal accesses, or alternatively grouping passengers at particular doors (no idiot would propose multiple platform stops at airports) ought to be considered.
Perhaps the best-implemented service is Philadelphiaâs, which taps into that cityâs rich network of electrified heavy-rail transit. You can get some idea of the range and synergies involved by looking at the schedule and map:
It would obviously not be difficult to divert trains of suitable equipment from the NEC (or Atlantic City service) from 30th St.to this route (it would need to be push-pull at least, as the line stub-ends after the terminal stops) but that wouldnât (imho) be showstopping. Note that you would NOT substitute such a train for one of the existing âclocker-styleâ ones; it would need to arrive after but depart before one of the half-hourly cars.
For naysayers: note that this service runs along with at least three buses to all the terminals, but continues to be offered. In part I think this reflects the very good connectivity to other areas and services offered with suitable equipment â here separate or married-pair Silverliners.
We never considered a separate airport tunnel loop for the âtrolley lineâ to the airport in Memphis (for which the Electroliner at the Rockford Trolley Museum was planned) â it was a ridiculous capital expense for very little added convenience over better âairport circulatorâ transport. (As it was, the trolley was reframed to be service for airport workers rather than airline passengers⌠as public financing of such a capital project probably often would be⌠so the final âpreferred routeâ wound around several heavily-trafficked streets, with at least three serious turns at intersections, and would take at least 40 minutes with frequent starting and stopping to wend its way from the downtown area to⌠a common stop at the Airways âtransportation centerâ which is a glorified bus stop requiring a shuttle-bus connection to the actual airport anyway.) The âcorrectâ solution would probably be an improved Thruway bus, with parlor seating and baggage check-through, that meets the existing Amtrak trains at the expected station point and then goes to the expected airport road loop⌠there would be a very similar solution 60 miles south between the Cities of New Orleans and the proposed airport extensions at Tunica (11,000â runways!) for what is presently an expensive limo rideâŚ
Well how is it that several other major airports (in Germany alone!) are served by mainlines or direct connections by rail?
Government paid, regardless of perceived benefit by class or economic status.
It would be nice for the government here to find and allocate that sort of money. Their previous attempt to build airports themselves on that basis did not fare so well once âessential servicesâ payments to sustain them became so âessentialâ â review the whole Cut Bank story. I would expect to see full âiron oceanâ operating arrangements plus punctuated dual-mode-lite electrification progress before Iâd see much point in main lines through airportsâŚ
ORD should be served directly at Terminal 2 by the Metra line to Union Station. As to others, how about Newark? SFO? Of course the problem was in poor planning, not looking at air and rail (and buses) as part of a âTransportationâ system, rather than as competitors.
These terms donât show up easily on a Google search which implies they are not so obvious to readers here.
Munich I think has the best setup in Germany and that train saves decent cab fare. Frankfurt is good as well.
Frankfurt Airport has two stations: one for local trains one for long distance trains. The Munich (Franz Strauss) airport is served by only by S-Bahn, lines 1 and 8 (suburban) and a few Regional Express trains, not any long-distance services. But itâs a very user-friendly airport compared to Frankfurt, in my opinion.
The Boring Co. alleged first project is to construct a pneumatic tube system between Washington and Baltimore - to compete with the current I95, I295, US 1, MARC Commuter on both the Camden and Penn Lines as well as Amtrak. A real underserved corridor [/sarcasm]
The Boring company already has a working concept in Las Vegas. I used it to get to the convention center, it worked just fine. It was a faster process than a cab, and a far cleaner product than any subway type product that I have used.
I donât want to overly impress people with my railroad knowledge here but wasnât there something in the movie âGhostbustersâ of an old pneumatic railway in New York City that they fell into at one point? River of slime or something? 
That was a reference to Ely Beachâs pneumatic railway for Broadway, that got short-routed by A.T.Stewartâs vaults. And a good thing, too: it wouldnât have scaled either to elevated-train or Interborough Rapid Transit levelsâŚ
There was a much better forgotten underground system in âRelicââŚ
I recall the pneumatic tube system for cash a Marshall Fields. Still can here the characteristic sounds.
Sounds great! Jet Blue is a very solid airline (my favorite).
When I was small, Babies Hospital (later Columbia Presbyterian) had a complex tube system, including capsules that could be set for routing to one of three destinations automatically. Made me wonder at age two and a half if it couldnât be scaled up to the size of the IRT subwayâŚ
You have reminded me of those sounds.