Greater Anglia has increased frequencies on its Stansted Express, as part of the operator’s new timetable which launches this week.
The airport rail link has returned to a four trains per hour service during peak morning and afternoon periods “in line with recovering customer demand after the pandemic”.
It means trains will run every 15 minutes on week days between the following times:
London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport
- 0510 to 0810 and 1610 to 1940
Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street
- 0600 to 0915 and 1645 to 2015
Outside of these periods the Stansted Express will continue to run every half an hour – Greater Anglia said that its new 12-carriage trains offer 80 per cent more seats than the eight-carriage trains they have replaced, meaning “there is plenty of seating capacity during those periods”.
In November last year Stansted airport’s managing director Gareth Powell had called for the return of four trains per hour between the airport and London, stating that it was “key to delivering vital sustainability targets and supporting the airport’s growth plans”.
Stansted airport boss calls for increase in London rail services
Greater Anglia said that its new timetables had been designed “to both support the ongoing recovery in passenger numbers and reflect the emerging travel patterns across the Greater Anglia network, as well as take advantage of the new trains rolling out on Greater Anglia services, with the full transition to new trains on course to be completed this summer”.
Changes include additional weekday morning peak services from Southend, Southminster, Colchester, Braintree, Witham and Chelmsford into London; and additional weekday morning and evening peak services on the West Anglia route between Ely/Cambridge/Stansted Airport and London.
The group is also optimising its weekday peak train services to/from Kings Lynn and Ely with Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), so that the latter provides a consistent peak time pattern to/from Kings Lynn, and Greater Anglia concentrates its London Liverpool Street peak services to/from Ely.
Commenting on the news Jamie Burles, managing director, Greater Anglia, said:
“We’re pleased to be providing four trains per hour to Stansted Airport at peak times on weekdays from next week, benefitting air travellers and commuters alike, as well as other peak time and summer season improvements aimed at encouraging even more customers to take the train.
“With new trains now scheduled to operate all of our services, we are transforming rail travel in our region, offering an excellent travel experience, more seats, and a more punctual and reliable service.
“We’ll continue to adjust our timetable in line with emerging demand and look to make further improvements whenever practical, working with regional partners (such as the Stansted Airport team) on the case for additional services wherever appropriate.”
