Many major railway stations, bus stations and ferry terminals that are involved in intermodal passenger transport are assigned codes by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), similar to IATA airport codes. Such railway stations, bus stations and ferry terminals are typically used in air-rail alliances or code sharing agreements (commonly known as "Rail Fly") between airlines, rail lines, and ferry lines, but can also be used for buses run directly from airlines (such as the Helsinki Airport - Turku / Tampere buses directly operated by Finnair), particularly in Europe. [1] [2] [3] By assigning stations an IATA code, passengers on trips involving those stations can be ticketed all the way through the journey, including being checked straight through to their final destination, without the bother of having to claim their baggage and check-in again when changing between the surface and air portions of a trip. At other places, passengers have to carry their baggage onto the train, but need no separate train booking process.
These kinds of arrangement can help airlines removing their short-haul flights and reduce their carbon footprint. [4]
Rail lines and stations at airports include:
(AIRail Service with Deutsche Bahn).
The IATA codes for non-airport stations normally begin with Q, X or Z. For some smaller cities the railway station in the city has the same code as the airport outside the city (several kilometers distance). A connection involving transfer between them can appear when searching travel possibilities. A taxi ride, a train, or a bus transfer is usually needed then.