London Stansted Airport today expressed disappointment after Network Rail published scaled back plans for short term improvements to journey times and reliability on the mainline to the airport and Cambridge.
Bosses at the airport believe the proposals fall a long way short of what passengers and the region deserve and that they again ignore recommendations from the Airports Commission for urgent action.
Nearly a year after it was first due to be published, the Anglia Route Study - which provides the blueprint for the railway in the East of England up to the 2040s - has suggested journey times savings of between 2 to 5 minutes could be achieved on the mainline to Stansted and Cambridge but only if new rolling stock is made available in the next rail franchise.
The airport had been working in partnership with Network Rail on a proposal to reduce journey times to Stansted to around 40 minutes over the next five years which would also lead to improvements for commuters in Cambridge, Bishop’s Stortford and Harlow.
Managing Director, Andrew Harrison said:
“Network Rail's plans for the West Anglia Main Line to London Stansted Airport and Cambridge fall a long way short of what passengers, commuters and businesses on the line deserve.
“The plans still do not provide an adequate solution to the Airports Commission's recommendation for urgent action to improve rail services to Stansted in the short term, and they do not address the issues that passengers face now - day in, day out - in terms of journey times and reliability.
“The suggestion by Network Rail of a two minute saving to Stansted is derisory when our own work shows that a much greater reduction in journey times could be achieved in the short term, paid for by the additional fares from more passengers using faster trains.
“Short term improvements would provide an important boost to Stansted, and help sustain the Eastern region's recent strong economic growth."
