Luton Airport Parkway

[bluenoxid]

I was just wondering if anyone could flesh out the background to Luton Airport Parkway being opened in 1999.

Who/what provided the momentum to get it constructed?
Where did the money come from?
How did an airport with under 4m passengers justify such an investment

 

[Clip]

How did an airport with under 4m passengers justify such an investment

Cant answer the rest but why shouldnt an airport that is the gateway to cheap holidays for many people not have a station?

Imagine how many cars & buses the station has taken off the road that would be coming in from Luton station too

 

[edwin_m]

I believe a lot of it was about the Parkway aspect, providing a big car park with easy access off the M1 for people who didn't want to drive into London, and mainly promoted by Thameslink. Are there still advertising boards on the M1 southbound shortly before you reach the turning?

However the airport shuttle bus does seem to be well used and the airport now plans to build an automated people mover, so despite the airport being relatively small it would appear that rail has a reasonable share of surface access.

 

[Western Lord]

I was just wondering if anyone could flesh out the background to Luton Airport Parkway being opened in 1999.

Who/what provided the momentum to get it constructed?
Where did the money come from?
How did an airport with under 4m passengers justify such an investment

Well, Luton now handles over 12 million passengers per annum , so it seems that it was a good investment.

 

[DelW]

I believe a lot of it was about the Parkway aspect, providing a big car park with easy access off the M1 for people who didn't want to drive into London, and mainly promoted by Thameslink. Are there still advertising boards on the M1 southbound shortly before you reach the turning?

That stretch was considerably rebuilt a few years ago. The only direction signs visible in Google Streetview are on overhead gantries and just say Luton (S) and the airport symbol. I drive that section fairly frequently and I don't remember seeing any station signage (though it's usually sufficiently busy that I'm mainly watching other traffic, so I'm open to correction).

 

[bluenoxid]

Thank you for your contributions. I'm writing up a comparison article between the top 15 UK Airport to demonstrate current and planned surface public transport infrastructure with the aim of demonstrating that a certain airport that has 3.5m passengers per annum today is not really punching below its weight if they build a Parkway station on a nearby railway line 1.5 miles away. The parallels with the Luton Airport story in the mid to latenineties is fairly helpful.

Am I right in thinking that there are no proposals to enhance public transport access to Newcastle Airport. I remember a proposal for a High speed rail link.

 

[Camden]

Doesn't Newcastle Airport have a metro station?

Newcastle Airport has a metro station.

I think what deserves to be looked at is if "airport parkway" stations only have the airport aspect of their existence as a secondary rather than primary benefit, in which case whether one is built or not depends less on airport proximity (which only really lends a name) and much more on whether it's a decent park and ride or other type of interchange.

To that end, comparisons with a park & ride for a big city like London probably isn't going to hold up to scrutiny.

 

[Bald Rick]

I know someone very closely involved with building the station. However I can't remember who paid - I think it was a combination of the council (who own the airport) and possibly the TOCs. Bear in mind the deal was done in the heady days of Railtrack, and at the time when Midland Mainline (as the TOC was then) was starting some ambitious growth proposals. I think it relied on the doubling of the MML service to have one of them stopping there. I do remember the funding agreement taking an age to resolve.

I also remember that it cost about £25m in late 90s prices, or over £40m in today's money.

It was certainly tied in with the airport's growth plan to take passenger numbers up to around 10million. The new terminal building was open by January 1999, and that is when the airport took off if you'll pardon the pun.

Luton has seen spectacular growth in the last 3 years, which given that it has been a building site for most of it is nothing short of remarkable. When the March 2017 stats come out in 4 weeks it will show that 15million people went through the airport in the previous 12 months. When the terminal extension is finished, and the light rail connection done, plus the improved connections through Thameslink, it will easily go through the 20m barrier.

Assuming you are thinking about LBA, a station would be cheaper, but the airport would need to be ambitious about its growth - current plans of c7mppa by 2030 probably aren't enough. It probably wouldn't be much use as a conventional parkway, except for people from Yeadon. The Luton Parkway concept was based on people getting off the M1 earlier to get into central London, rather than driving all the way in, or to Stanmore / Barnet etc for the tube.

 

[bangor-toad]

I believe a lot of it was about the Parkway aspect, providing a big car park with easy access off the M1 for people who didn't want to drive into London, and mainly promoted by Thameslink. Are there still advertising boards on the M1 southbound shortly before you reach the turning?

From what I remember there used to be a big advertising sign alongside the southbound M1 near the old Luton-Dunstable overbridge.
I remember it as it had an illustration of what looked like a Class 333 unit - which as far as I know never served the MML.

I think the sign is now gone - I didn't see it last time I drove that way and I can't see it on Google Streetview.

Cheers,
Mr Toad

 

[Saint66]

From what I remember there used to be a big advertising sign alongside the southbound M1 near the old Luton-Dunstable overbridge.
I remember it as it had an illustration of what looked like a Class 333 unit - which as far as I know never served the MML.

I think the sign is now gone - I didn't see it last time I drove that way and I can't see it on Google Streetview.

Cheers,
Mr Toad

You're spot on. It was removed during the widening of the M1 as there wasn't the space for such a big sign.

 

[Camden]

However how many are using the train to Luton Airport Parkway in order to use the airport, versus how many are using the train from Luton Airport Parkway in order to get to London. What would the airport's numbers look like if it had never existed, that is the missing question in order to ascertain its usefulness.

Luton Airport's growth may well be incidental to the station's existence, and owe more to things like proximity to London, the rise of Low-Cos and of course the renaming from Luton Airport to London Luton Airport.

In the case of the last thing I mentioned, I expect that would create a rise in use of the station from people landing but again the station can't be said to have played any pivotal role in that growth. Not to mention probably more people landing at Luton get on a coach to London.

 

[Bald Rick]

In the case of the last thing I mentioned, I expect that would create a rise in use of the station from people landing but again the station can't be said to have played any pivotal role in that growth. Not to mention probably more people landing at Luton get on a coach to London.

In my experience (I use the station regularly) many, many more people use the train to London than get the coach. Also, I would estimate that around 60-70% of the station users are going to / from the airport, many for work rather than being air passengers.

 

[JaJaWa]

From what I remember there used to be a big advertising sign alongside the southbound M1 near the old Luton-Dunstable overbridge.
I remember it as it had an illustration of what looked like a Class 333 unit - which as far as I know never served the MML.

I think the sign is now gone - I didn't see it last time I drove that way and I can't see it on Google Streetview.

Cheers,
Mr Toad

See the original sign attached, set Google Street View to 2008 to see it.

That stretch was considerably rebuilt a few years ago. The only direction signs visible in Google Streetview are on overhead gantries and just say Luton (S) and the airport symbol. I drive that section fairly frequently and I don't remember seeing any station signage (though it's usually sufficiently busy that I'm mainly watching other traffic, so I'm open to correction).

You're spot on. It was removed during the widening of the M1 as there wasn't the space for such a big sign.

There are replacement signs today too (just shorter in height), visible on Google Street View from 2012 onwards.

 

[Hadders]

In my experience (I use the station regularly) many, many more people use the train to London than get the coach. Also, I would estimate that around 60-70% of the station users are going to / from the airport, many for work rather than being air passengers.

I agree about more getting the train than coach. Huge queues normally at the airport TVM and underground rush hour style crowding on the shuttle bus between the terminal and station supports that, and doesn't seem to put punters off.

 

[Camden]

Taking that at face value, however, the prefixing of the airport with the name "London" could account for this, rather than the presence of the station itself stimulating such demand. People arriving at the airport will want to get into London, regardless of how.

The same cannot be said for provincial holiday airports on the outskirts of much smaller cities.

 

[edwin_m]

Like Gatwick and Birmingham, Luton has the benefit of a railway nearby with a good range of passing trains. So it costs the railway relatively little in capital cost, operating cost or route capacity to provide a frequent and attractive service and hence one can sometimes be provided even for a relatively lightly used airport like Prestwick.

Heathrow and Stansted have dedicated rail branches and train services, which increase costs considerably so require higher passenger numbers to justify them. Manchester has a branch but no dedicated shuttle, but it has passenger numbers rather higher than Luton's and also a selection of trains from across the region needing to terminate in the Manchester area that could be extended to the airport relatively easily. In fact if the airport station hadn't existed then some terminating capacity would probably have had to be built elsewhere.

Other airports such as Leeds Bradford don't have a convenient railway passing nearby so would have to have a dedicated branch. This is, to say the least, challenging to justify for an airport with lower passenger numbers. It's unlikely for example that Luton would have got a branch even if it had been further from the railway than it is.

 

[DarloRich]

However how many are using the train to Luton Airport Parkway in order to use the airport, versus how many are using the train from Luton Airport Parkway in order to get to London. What would the airport's numbers look like if it had never existed, that is the missing question in order to ascertain its usefulness.

Luton Airport's growth may well be incidental to the station's existence, and owe more to things like proximity to London, the rise of Low-Cos and of course the renaming from Luton Airport to London Luton Airport.

In the case of the last thing I mentioned, I expect that would create a rise in use of the station from people landing but again the station can't be said to have played any pivotal role in that growth. Not to mention probably more people landing at Luton get on a coach to London.

Luton airport is a very easy airport to get to by public transport, even more so since the railway station opened. It is now easily and more importantly quickly reachable by train from central London 24 hours a day.

 

[JaJaWa]

Only 22 minutes to St Pancras on EMT. When the metro between Parkway and the Airport opens in a couple of years it will be a very attractive choice.

 

[Bald Rick]

Only 22 minutes to St Pancras on EMT. When the metro between Parkway and the Airport opens in a couple of years it will be a very attractive choice.

Indeed. Even with Thameslink, it will be 40 minutes from St P to the terminal building. Or under 50 minutes from City Thameslink.

 

[CdBrux]

Some people, such as myself, who are dropped off at the airport will use the station car park to meet the car driver as cars are strongly discourage / not allowed up the hill to the airport and the shuttle bus costs the same, indeed less on a return trip, than the fee cars pay if they drive up to the terminal.

As for the airport demand increasing strongly then this could also be linked to capacity constraints at other London airports

 

[JaJaWa]

Some people, such as myself, who are dropped off at the airport will use the station car park to meet the car driver as cars are strongly discourage / not allowed up the hill to the airport and the shuttle bus costs the same, indeed less on a return trip, than the fee cars pay if they drive up to the terminal.

As for the airport demand increasing strongly then this could also be linked to capacity constraints at other London airports

There is a drop-off point with a free bus link to the terminal as well.

 

[swt class 450]

One of the problems is the distance between Luton Airport Parkway station and Luton Airport terminal. You can very easily walk it in around 15 to 20 minutes (which is what i have done every time that i have visited). But the problem is if you have lots of luggage or are elderly or disabled (or simply don't realise that you can walk between them) then you have to get a bus service which you have to pay for (i believe currently it is £2 for a Single ticket or £3 for a Return ticket on the route 888 shuttle bus but there are other routes you can use as well).

Once the transit train system (i presume it will be similar to the ones that Birmingham / Gatwick / Heathrow / Stansted have) between Luton Airport and Luton Airport Parkway opens (i think it will open at some point during 2020) then that will definitely improve things. I just hope the transit train will be free (it will be appalling if they charge for it).

I do wonder if they will eventually introduce a Luton Express train service between Luton Airport Parkway and a station in London (if they do i just hope it is not a poorly run failure like the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express services are).

Another thought is that it could be good to rename Luton Airport Parkway to Luton Airport to just make it more simple and clear. Most people in the UK haven't got a clue what "parkway" means so i doubt any of the foreign tourists and visitors will.

 

[Bald Rick]

There is a drop-off point with a free bus link to the terminal as well.

Indeed - it's the mid term car park, and it is invariably quicker to walk the 400 metres to the terminal from there than to wait for a bus.

 

[Bald Rick]

I do wonder if they will eventually introduce a Luton Express train service between Luton Airport Parkway and a station in London (if they do i just hope it is not a poorly run failure like the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express services are).

"They" won't. The Midland Main line fast lines are at capacity south of Harpenden, and the only way to introduce an express style service would be to remove other trains. Which would not be popular.

Besides, the parkway already has a very good service to and across central London. The new rapid transit will take 10 minutes off the journey time from central London to the terminal, such that from much of central London it will be as quick as getting to any of the London airports.

I wouldn't describe either of the Gatwick or Heathrow expresses as failures either. They both do exactly what they advertise, and both make a lot of money for their owners.

 

[JaJaWa]

I do wonder if they will eventually introduce a Luton Express train service between Luton Airport Parkway and a station in London (if they do i just hope it is not a poorly run failure like the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express services are).

Luton Airport tried to get provision for this in the current East Midlands Trains franchise, it mainly seemed to involve sticking “Luton Express” (see their image attached) on the front of all of their trains and stopping them all there.

Another thought is that it could be good to rename Luton Airport Parkway to Luton Airport to just make it more simple and clear. Most people in the UK haven't got a clue what "parkway" means so i doubt any of the foreign tourists and visitors will.

That was on the edge of happening when the Thameslink franchise transferred from FCC to GTR, the 387s originally couldn’t announce the station as they were delivered with announcements for ‘Luton Airport’ rather than ‘Luton Airport Parkway’ and the ‘Luton Airport’ sound file was deleted.

 

[jon0844]

I do wonder if they will eventually introduce a Luton Express train service between Luton Airport Parkway and a station in London (if they do i just hope it is not a poorly run failure like the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express services are).

I can see GTR eyeing up some red fabric to put on Class 700 seats and call it the Luton Airport Express... Then charging twice as much!

 

[A0wen]

I can see GTR eyeing up some red fabric to put on Class 700 seats and call it the Luton Airport Express... Then charging twice as much!

I can't - for the reason Bald Rick put about 2 posts further up.

Capacity on the MML is limited and demand is high. The only way to do something like this would be at the expense of other services - so it won't happen.

 

[Saint66]

I can't - for the reason Bald Rick put about 2 posts further up.

Capacity on the MML is limited and demand is high. The only way to do something like this would be at the expense of other services - so it won't happen.

Don't let facts get in the way of a bit of (Sometimes deserved) GTR bashing!

 

[DarloRich]

One of the problems is the distance between Luton Airport Parkway station and Luton Airport terminal. You can very easily walk it in around 15 to 20 minutes (which is what i have done every time that i have visited). But the problem is if you have lots of luggage or are elderly or disabled (or simply don't realise that you can walk between them) then you have to get a bus service which you have to pay for (i believe currently it is £2 for a Single ticket or £3 for a Return ticket on the route 888 shuttle bus but there are other routes you can use as well).

Once the transit train system (i presume it will be similar to the ones that Birmingham / Gatwick / Heathrow / Stansted have) between Luton Airport and Luton Airport Parkway opens (i think it will open at some point during 2020) then that will definitely improve things. I just hope the transit train will be free (it will be appalling if they charge for it).

I do wonder if they will eventually introduce a Luton Express train service between Luton Airport Parkway and a station in London (if they do i just hope it is not a poorly run failure like the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express services are).

Another thought is that it could be good to rename Luton Airport Parkway to Luton Airport to just make it more simple and clear. Most people in the UK haven't got a clue what "parkway" means so i doubt any of the foreign tourists and visitors will.

you want to walk it knock yourself out! £2 seems like a reasonable fare to me for useful service.

Changing the name might be a good idea as everyone just seems to reefer to t as Luton Airpirt anyway

 

[Mikey C]

An interesting comparison is Southampton Airport Parkway (which looking at Wiki since it opened has previously been called Southampton Airport and Southampton Parkway!).

This was opened in 1966, and does seem to have been specifically opened to serve the airport, though was the Parkway function always part of the plan as well?