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London Luton wants more high speed trains as passenger numbers boom

London Luton Airport (LLA) has revealed another month of strong passenger growth and lead the airport to renew calls for greater rail transport links for passengers from central London.

The airport recorded an 18.7% increase in passenger numbers in October compared to the same month in 2015 as over 1.3m passengers travelled through the airport.

Such is the demand at what LLA Chief Executive Officer, Nick Barton, dubs ‘the fastest growing major London airport’, that the airport is now calling on the government to improve access to the nearby Luton Airport Parkway station.

Currently there is only one fast train per hour that travels to LLA from the centre of London, with the airport pressuring the government to introduce four trains per hour as part of the upcoming East Midlands rail refranchising process.

Luton Borough Council is already plotting a new £200m light railway link between Luton Airport parkway which is due to be completed in 2020.

The airport argues that four fast trains in combination with the new light rail link would mean passengers could be whisked from central London right to the airport’s front door in just 30 minutes.

Barton commented: “As the fastest-growing major London airport, it is absurd that LLA is the only one with no Express-style service. Each month more and more passengers are choosing to fly from LLA which is why we are currently undertaking this ambitious transformation project to increase our annual capacity.

“Improved connectivity will not only make the journey to and from LLA as simple and efficient as possible for our passengers but also help address capacity constraints across the south east in the short-medium term.”