Photostories
Air-Rail Links in Japan

There are about 90 airports in Japan served by regular flights, and half are used by jets. However, only seven can be accessed by railways—Sapporo (Chitose) and Miyazaki airports by main-line trains, Haneda (Tokyo's domestic airport) by monorail and suburban trains with a direct link to a subway, Itami (Osaka's domestic airport) by monorail, both Narita and Kansai international airports by JR and private suburban trains (mostly luxury EMUs with reserved seats), and Fukuoka by a municipal subway. See Mr Hirota's article (pp. 8–19).

Narita(New Tokyo International Airport)
Photo: JR East Series 253 Narita Express (NEX) trains (left) run frequent express services from Ofuna, Yokohama, Omiya, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and Tokyo stations to Narita Airport.
(JR East)
Photo:Keisei Electric Railway's Skyliner (right) offers another express air-rail links for Narita Airport.
(Keisei Electric Railway)

Haneda(Tokyo International Airport)
Photo:The Tokyo Monorail ( right) between downtown Tokyo and Haneda Airport is one of the world's most successful monorails. In 1997, it carried more than 65 million passengers divided between airline passengers and commuters.
(Tokyo Monorail)
Photo:Since November 1998, Keihin Electric Express Railway's Kuko Line ( left) links the Haneda Airport to central Tokyo and Narita Airport by through services with Asakusa subway line and Keisei Electric Railway.
(Keihin Electric Express Railway)

Kansai(Kansai International Airport)
Photos:The lower deck of the road and rail bridge between Kansai International Airport on an artificial island in Osaka Bay and the mainland carries JR West's Haruka (left) and Nankai Electric Railway's futuristic Rapide (right) between the Airport Station and the railway network of the Kansai region.
(JR West and Nankai Electric Railway)

Photo:JR Hokkaido station at Sapporo's Chitose Airport was designed in a cooperative project with Danish State Railways. The Airport trains ( left) carried 8.2 million people in 1995.
(JR Hokkaido)
Photo:Fukuoka Airport in Kyushu is served by Series 2000 trains of the Fukuoka City Subway (centre).
(Fukuoka City Subway)
Photo:JR Kyushu's colourful Sunshine Miyazaki (right) trains serve Miyazaki Airport in Kyushu.
(Miyazaki Prefectural Government and JR Kyushu)

Major European cities have developed rail access to their airports. Some airports, notably Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland and Frankfurt in Germany, are served by long-distance inter-city trains. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (next page) has a direct link to the TGV high-speed network, and now Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is also served by Thalys TGV trains. Frankfurt Airport will soon be connected to ICE high-speed services. Hong Kong's newly opened international airport was built on a remote island, but has excellent rail access.

Photos:The excellent railway network of Swiss Federal Railways is linked closely to the nation's airports. The railway station at Geneva Airport (left) is close to the terminal, while it is located under the terminal buildings at Zurich Kloten Airport (centre and right).
(Foto-Service SBB & Y. Akiyama)
Photos:Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is linked by the high-speed Thalys to Europe's major capitals. Paris is less than 4 hours from the Schiphol Plaza railway station located under the airport terminal itself.
(Y. Akiyama & Amsterdam Schiphol Airport)
Photos:Frankfurt Airport has been well served by the S-bahn but the city's increasingly central role in Europe will soon be enhanced by the spring 1999 opening of the new AIRail Terminal for high-speed ICE trains.
(Y. Akiyama)
Photo:London Gatwick Airport about 40 km south of London is linked by regular 30-minute Gatwick Express services between the airport and Victoria Station ( left).
(BAA)
Photo:Network South East trains from Liverpool Street Station serve Stanstead Airport about 40 km north of London at almost hourly intervals ( right).
(H. Kaneko)
Photos:Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is one of the few airports in Europe linked directly by high-speed TGV trains to the French and European railway network.
(SNCF)
Photo:The Øresund Line (left) forming part of the fixed link (JRTR 11) between Denmark and Sweden was opened by Danish State Railways in September 1998, providing rail access to Copenhagen Kastrup Airport. The train stops just 120 m from the 34 check-in desks. The airport train services will be linked to the European rail network, and later to Scandinavia via the Øresund Bridge.
(Peter Thornvig)
Photo:One of the world's most modern air-rail links is the new Gardermobanen to Oslo Airport, which is served everyday by 16 Airport Express (right) trains of NSB Gardermobanen AS running some 70 km between Oslo Central Station and the Oslo Airport Gardermoen Terminal.
(NSB Gardermobanen AS)
Photos:Hong Kong's recently opened international airport at Chek Lap Kok is served by advanced Airport Express trains that runs on the newly built dedicated Airport Express Link (AEL) operated by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation. Each seat is equipped with an information display. (H. Kaneko & H. Komatsu)