IARO – a welcome and an introduction by Andrew Sharp
Hello! I’m very grateful to Amadeus for inviting me to contribute a regular blog. In future, I plan to write something topical early each month. This posting will concentrate on our conference earlier this week, but following ones will cover more general topics.
IARO is the International Air Rail Organisation, a 12-year old London based industry group. Our mission is to bring together people interested in rail connections to airports and to spread good ideas and world class best practice. We do this through a newsletter, “Air Rail Express”; by our websites, www.iaro.com and www.airportrailwaysoftheworld.com; by our unique databases of airport railways; by our research reports on topics of member interest; and by our regular conferences.
Our member include railways, airports, airlines, universities, consultants and suppliers. We deal with all kinds of rail connections to airports – from the 16 up-market Airport Expresses; through the regional rail connections you find in Zürich, Manchester and many other places; to the metros and light rail systems which are the most numerous examples. Air cargo is a growing sector too.
Let me tell you about the conference we ran in Hamburg earlier this week, to give you a flavour of our events. We started with a tour of the very beautiful airport – this one really does have a Wow! factor – and a ride on the 6-month-old (and highly successful) S-Bahn suburban rail connection into the city. A feature of this railway – and a few others in Germany – is that airport trains combine with a local train at a junction. We were able to watch this splitting and joining procedure, which was done in a very slick and efficient fashion – if you were on either half of the train, you probably wouldn’t notice it. Once in the city centre, we were given a tour of the City Hall, and then a reception there. Next day we had a very full set of conference sessions. After a welcome from Michael Eggenschweiler, CEO of the airport, we started with the local scene – presentations on Hamburg airport and the history of its railway connection. Then we expanded to other parts of Germany – accessibility planning, airport planning in the country, and then some research on airport choice based on a study of passengers originating in the Köln area. A session on passengers with reduced mobility provoked a lot of debate. We heard from an airline, an airport and a government body on the complex issues - made more complex by the different legislative framework on different sides of the Atlantic. As usual at IARO events, we were concerned with the interface. The airlines have good procedures and so do the railways - but what happens on an airport railway? After lunch we looked at the current financial situation – how are we all managing in the downturn? What is the impact? Where are we affected – and where are we un-affected? Two impressive research projects were then described: this was followed by a presentation on a rail link to Prague Ruzyne airport. Finally, we heard a case study on the enhancement of Zürich airport. Presentations are available on a memory stick: email events@iaro.com for details of the price of this. Next day we held a half-day workshop on Managing Disruption – something of considerable interest to airport railways, whose passengers are more sensitive about delays than the average passenger. This workshop will contribute towards a future IARO report highlighting best practice on dealing with all kinds of disruption.
I’d like to share one example given by a delegate, who had been on a train which had left London normally and then started to slow down then accelerate, slow down again then accelerate. People were looking round nervously, wondering what was wrong. The driver totally defused the situation by announcing, “The problem is that our pants keep coming down. By ‘our pants’ I mean our pantograph, the piece of equipment which collects electricity from the overhead wires”. Everyone relaxed in gales of laughter – but everyone on the train understood quite clearly what the problem was, and that there was a real human being in charge! The conference brought together delegates from 14 countries. We shared ideas, we networked, we talked a lot and learned a lot. We also enjoyed the beauties of Hamburg in stunning weather: we were able to appreciate its food, its beer and its situation together in ideal circumstances. Our next event is in the equally beautiful city of Vancouver: we are focussing on successful light rail to airports. Details are on www.iaro.com/events.shtml. I hope you enjoyed reading this: I look forward to your feedback. Andrew
