More trains for Stansted Airport
New trains will be introduced on the Stansted Express rail service between Stansted Airport and central London.
Thirty four-car trains have been ordered from manufacturer Bombardier in Derby. All 120 coaches will be delivered between March and June 2011. The trains currently used on the Stansted Express route will be re-deployed elsewhere to provide longer trains.
Funding for the new trains is coming from the government. In total, National Express East Anglia (NXEA), which operates the Stansted Express service, will receive 188 more carriages.
"This will be of major benefit to passengers in terms of reducing over-crowding, while Bombardier's success will help safeguard UK manufacturing jobs and the expansion of the fleet will create welcome job opportunities with NXEA," said Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon.
NXEA is expected to create more than 100 new jobs as a result of its enlarged fleet, while the infrastructure improvements to support longer trains will also help to safeguard jobs with Network Rail.
The new carriages not deployed on the Stansted Express route will be used on commuter services in and out of London Liverpool Street station. The additional trains will also help provide capacity for the London Olympics at Stratford in 2012.
Once all improvements are in place by December 2011, approximately 11,000 extra seats will be provided into Liverpool Street in the three-hour morning peak helping to reduce overcrowding.
The order for the 120 new carriages for the Stansted Express is worth approximately £155 million. Bombardier Transportation UK chairman and chief country representative, Colin Walton, comments: "We are extremely pleased that our ELECTROSTAR trains have been chosen to welcome visitors arriving into the UK via Stansted Airport.”
Stansted Airport Ltd is committed to fund the lengthening of the platform at Stansted Airport station to handle the new trains.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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