Back in 2001, Asia-Pacific airports were leading the way in terms of inter-modal innovation and almost a decade on, nothing has changed.

For now the region's airports boast the world's only high-speed maglev train link (Shanghai Pudong), the most modern international ferry terminal (Hong Kong), one of newest downtown rail services (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) and some of the most impressive ground transportation centres on the planet at Incheon and Beijing-Capital.

If you add the ability to check-in downtown either at remote terminals or rail stations (Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and now Bangkok) and an ever-rising number of rail links and water connections, then the Asia-Pacific region really is a multi-modal trendsetter.

Without doubt, the standout airport 'rail link' of the Asia-Pacific region is the Shanghai Transrapid, a magnetic levitation (maglev) train that reaches speeds of up to 432km/h on its seven-minute journey between Shanghai-Pudong and China's largest city, some 30 kilometres away.

It was the world's first commercial high-speed maglev railway when inaugurated in 2004 and it remains in a class of its own, because although other airports want something similar, none have successfully managed it to date.

And they could soon be even more envious as the Chinese government recently confirmed plans for a $3.2 billion extension to the line that will connect Pudong with Shanghai's domestic gateway, Hongqiao, and the city of Hangzhou nearly 200 kilometres away.

Work on the expansion project is already underway and, when complete, it will be possible to travel between the two cities in 30 minutes as opposed to the one-and-a-half hours it takes today.

Professor Sun Zhang, an expert on China's railway system and staunch maglev supporter, recently told China Daily: "For a country with 1.3 billion people and an economy growing at about 8% every year, the need for transport and speed seems obvious. Just compare China and Germany: Germany is one-27th the size of China, but its railway network is 13.5 times longer than ours.

"People are questioning why China insists on introducing maglev lines while countries like Germany and Japan don't. If you look at China's sheer size, you'll know why. There just needs to be further agreement on the best way forward."

A ground transportation centre located between Shanghai-Pudong's terminals houses the airport's maglev station and provides bus, rail, coach and taxi links to downtown Shanghai and beyond.

Maglevs and monorails

Although nothing like the Shanghai Transrapid in terms of distance and speed, Incheon International Airport is on target to open its very own maglev service in 2013.

The service, set to be operated by unmanned Hyundai Rotem designed maglev trains with a top speed of 110km/h, will connect the gateway with Korail Korea Railroad's station on neighbouring Yongyu Island.

Although official journey times have yet to be announced, it is expected that the trains will take only a few minutes to complete the 6.1 kilometre distance, despite stops at up to four stations en route.

The high regards in which it holds Incheon International Airport ensures that the project is being underwritten by the Korean government.

Elsewhere across the region, Tokyo's airports are set for an intermodal boost in 2010 with Haneda's new terminal gaining its own direct connection to the city's monorail system and Narita finally getting its long awaited rapid rail link to the Japanese capital.
Haneda, which has set an October 21, 2010 opening date for its third terminal, has had a Tokyo Monorail link to downtown Hamamatsucho Station since 1964 (see page 84 for more information). It is also served by a handful of rail lines.

Narita has no need to be jealous though, as its newly opened $1.3 billion Keisei Narita Airport Line allows express trains to travel the 66 kilometre distance between the airport and Nippori Station in downtown Tokyo in
36 minutes. The service, operated by Keisei Electric Railway, will have a top speed of 160km/h.

Narita's ongoing efforts to encourage new off-airport initiatives that will enhance passenger processing and reduce potential congestion in its terminals include the home pick-up and airport security clearance of baggage provided by a handful of private companies.

Downtown check-in for specific airlines is also possible for passengers boarding buses at both Tokyo City Air Terminal (TCAT) and Yokohama City Air Terminal (YCAT).
In addition to the new rapid rail service, Narita boasts two rail links to the capital - JR East's Narita Express services to Tokyo Station and Keisei Electric Railway's Skyliner departures to Ueno. Both take around 60 minutes.

Downtown terminals

The honour of being the region's newest airport rail service belongs to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi's new rapid transit system, which allows 160-km/h express trains to cover the 28.6-kilometre distance between the gateway and the capital's Makkasan Station (City Air Terminal) in just 15 minutes.

Built by a consortium of B Grimm, STECON and Siemens for an estimated cost of $860 million and owned and operated by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Service officially rolled into action for the first time on August 23. It offers two types of service - a non-stop Express Line (known locally as the Pink Line) and a slower City Line (the Red Line), both of which operate on an elevated track for

The City Line, which is aimed at commuters, makes eight stops across the capital, starting at downtown Phaya Thai Station, on its way to and from the airport.
Both train lines operate from 6am until midnight with City Line services departing every 15 minutes and Express Line services every 30 minutes.

At Makkasan Station, a series of Flight Information Display System (FIDS) screens provided by UFIS Airport Solutions ensure that passengers checking in at the 'City Air Terminal' receive accurate, up-to-the-minute information on the status of their flights.

Its FIDS screens - which display exactly the same information that is being shown in the terminal at Suvarnabhumi, courtesy of an interface with the Airport Operational Database - are also located above all 28 check-in desks at Makkasan Station.

Like other downtown terminals elsewhere across the Asia-Pacific region, Makkasan Station provides passengers with the opportunity to check-in luggage for flights before boarding the train to the airport.

Transport Minister, Sohpon Zarum, says the new airport train link can carry up to 50,000 passengers daily, generating over $30,000 a day in revenue.
"I believe this rail link will help ease traffic, lower pollution and make it easier for the public to get to Suvarnabhumi," says Sophon.

Meanwhile in Canada, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) believes that its new C$2 billion rapid rail service has significantly increased its appeal to passengers.

Inaugurated last year, Canada Line's SkyTrain service has effectively halved journey times between YVR and downtown Vancouver's Waterfront Station to
25 minutes. And boarding numbers to date have exceeded all expectations, with in excess of 105,000 passengers per day using the service in March and an incredible 228,000 daily during the 17 days of Winter Olympics.

Canada Line's YVR airport station is centrally located between the gateway's international and domestic terminals.

YVR's CEO, Larry Berg, enthuses: "We're pleased to be the first major airport in Canada to provide our customers and the more than 26,000 people who work at YVR with convenient rapid transit service to the airport."

Ground transport hubs

Asia-Pacific airports also appear to have led the way in terms of building new infrastructure to accommodate the ever-increasing number of ground transportation options being offered to passengers.

Beijing Capital's impressive Ground Transportation Centre (GTC) forms part of the airport's new Terminal 3 development, the Foster+Partners/NACO/ARUP designed facilities covering a total of 1.3 million square metres of floor space between them.

Located between the existing eastern runway and the future third runway, the GTC is served by shuttle buses and the Airport Express Line of the Beijing subway, which runs 28 kilometres from the gateway to city, with stops at Sanyuanqiao and Dongzhimen.

While Incheon International Airport's dedicated 250,000sqm Ground Transportation Centre - designed by Terry Farrell & Partners in collaboration with Samoo Architects and DMJM - boasts six-floors and an underground car park with 5,000 spaces.

Indeed, Architectural Record magazine was so impressed by the building that it claims that its central Great Hall is "a truss-roofed, daylit space that recalls the grand rail terminals of the Victorian age." Adding: "Atop the Great Hall is a 130-foot-long, steel-framed airfoil - a birdlike crest for the beastlike building."

In addition to road access and the planned new maglev link, Incheon is served by water, courtesy of ferry services from the Yuldo and Wolmido suburbs of Incheon City.
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is arguably the most multi-modal gateway on the planet, and the January 2010 opening of its new SkyPier cross-boundary ferry terminal further enhanced its reputation.

HKIA's location on Lantau Island some 35 kilometres from central Hong Kong and growing links with Mainland China, ensured that providing a variety of different ways of getting to the airport was a priority for planners long before its 1998 opening.

As a result, it boasts a host of road, rail and water connections that include the dedicated Airport Express train. The service provides guaranteed 24 minute journey times between HKIA and Hong Kong's central business district and the opportunity to check-in for flights at Central and Kowloon stations.

In light of the stiff competition faced from local bus, coach and taxi services to downtown Hong Kong, operator MTR went out of its way to create a unique identity for the rail service through branding that would clearly distinguish it from other public transport providers and appeal to both locals and international travellers.

Citigate Lloyd Northover (CLN) designed its dual-language logo, train livery, tickets, signage and staff uniforms to "reflect the dynamism of Hong Kong and the fact that it is an extension of the airport experience." Seat-back TV screens show programmes in English and Chinese.

The airport is also served by a number of public buses, taxis, hotel shuttle buses and cross-boundary coaches and ferries to Mainland China.

Boats operate from HKIA's brand new SkyPier cross-boundary ferry terminal, which can be accessed direct from the airport by Automated People Mover (APM) system.

High-speed ferries make an average of 90 daily trips from HKIA's SkyPier transporting around 6,000 passengers between the airport and eight ports in the PRD and Macau.

Despite the frequency of departures, ferry services cannot lay claim to being the most popular surface transportation option for HKIA's passengers - that honour goes to franchise buses, which in 2009 handled 34.5% of all visitors to the gateway.

The Airport Express and MTR accounted for 17.8% of all passengers followed by taxis (17.5%), private cars (16.3%), tour coaches (10.1%), limousines (1.8%) and others (2%).

The range and variety of innovative, highly ambitious and passenger friendly projects taking place across Asia-Pacific must surely make the region the most intermodally switched-on place on earth right now. Those that know the region well, would expect nothing else.