Connecting airports with cities : perspectives of air-rail links development in Central Europe

Air travel has increased rapidly in Central Europe in the first decade of the 21st century thanks to the admission of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to the European Union and the liberalization of their air travel market. Rapid increase in the number of air travelers in Central Europe created new challenges for Central European airports, which had to expand, modernize and better connect to urban cores. The best solution of the last problem is to organize rail transport, which can handle considerable high passenger volumes, avoids traffic jams, and exerts a relatively small impact on the natural environment. The creation of rail transportation systems increases the airports competitiveness of making cities and whole geographical regions more accessible in general. Another benefit of this transport is that the construction of airportrail links includes metropolitan areas which had no efficient transport systems.