Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work they are undertaking to implement the Airports Commission recommendations for surface transport improvements to Stansted to make the best use of existing capacity at London’s airports, to encourage more people to travel by rail, and to reduce emissions.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

In its National Infrastructure Plan of December 2013, the government confirmed that it would be taking forward the surface access measures recommended by the Airports Commission to make best use of existing capacity at London airports.

For Stansted, work to examine potential upgrades to rail infrastructure between London, Stansted and Cambridge has been taken forward by the West Anglia Taskforce, which was established by the government and the Mayor of London to consider this issue and the benefits it might generate.

The Taskforce published its recommendations and a suggested timetable for action in July.

Rail services to Stansted will also be enhanced through the new East Anglia franchise. This will bring a number of improvements for passengers travelling to the airport, including new trains with free Wi-Fi from February 2019 and a minimum 12.5% reduction in anytime return fares and anytime single fares on the Stansted Express by early 2017. By early 2018, passengers will be able to purchase tickets via a dedicated Stansted Express website, to be delivered to their mobile devices for validation. There is flexibility within the new franchise for the train operator to introduce services to different parts of London if market demand for this emerges.