King Charles III rides the Luton DART, ahead of opening
On Tuesday 6 December, His Majesty, King Charles III paid a visit to the Luton DART – the passenger transit system constructed by VFK - a joint venture between VolkerFitzpatrick and Kier – as part of a wider visit to Luton. His Majesty was one of the first people to travel on the £225m Luton DART (Direct Air-Rail Transit), which, when open, will serve London Luton Airport and is one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Luton.
As a part of King Charles’ official visit to Luton, he made the three-minute journey by DART from Parkway station to the airport. He met elected Members, various council officials and representatives from various charities that are supported by Luton Rising, the council company which owns the airport. As well as this, he made a special effort to speak with some of the many apprentices who have worked on the Luton DART project.
Ben Scott, who was an apprentice surveyor on the project got to meet King Charles III on the day. He said: ‘ I was delighted to be officially invited to the event, I really enjoyed my time working on the Luton DART project and gained lots of experience, meeting King Charles was the icing on the cake. He genuinely seemed interested to hear about our involvement on the project, it will be a day I never forget.’
The Luton DART (Direct Air-Rail Transit), will speed passengers from Luton Airport to the mainline in under four minutes. It consists of two stations at each end of a 2.3km rail link, including a double-shuttle and a fully automated people-mover. The cable-driven system has been designed using the latest technology and innovation and is capable of operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The electrically powered Luton DART will support the future sustainable growth of London Luton Airport, by reducing the environmental impact of journeys to and from the airport and congestion on surrounding roads. In so doing, it will increase the rail modal share for passengers accessing the airport and support the delivery of the Luton 2040 vision of a carbon-neutral town.
