Luton Airport Parkway | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Aerial photo of Luton Retail Park, with part of the station on the right, and the former airport shuttle buses waiting at the bottom | |
  Luton Airport Parkway Location of Luton Airport Parkway in Bedfordshire | |
| Location | Park Town, Luton |
| Local authority | Borough of Luton |
| Grid reference | TL105205 |
| Managed by | Thameslink |
| Station code | LTN |
| DfT category | D |
| Number of platforms | 6 (4 National Rail 2 Luton DART) |
| Accessible | Yes |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2020–21 |  0.694 million[1] |
| – interchange | 25,227[1] |
| 2021–22 |  1.991 million[1] |
| – interchange | 74,151[1] |
| 2022–23 | 3.768 million[1] |
| – interchange | 5,783[1] |
| 2023–24 | 4.344 million[1] |
| – interchange | 6,576[1] |
| 2024–25 | 4.741 million[1] |
| – interchange | 7,632[1] |
| Key dates | |
| 21 November 1999 | Mainline station opened |
| 27 March 2023 | DART station opened |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°52′23″N0°23′46″W / 51.873°N 0.396°W /51.873; -0.396 |
 London transport portal | |
Luton Airport Parkway station is on theMidland Main Line in England, serving southLuton andLuton Airport in Bedfordshire. The station is situated in Luton'sPark Town district, being 29.27 miles (47.11 km) fromLondon St Pancras betweenHarpenden to the south andLuton to the north. Its three-letter station code is LTN, also theIATA code for the airport.
The station is served byThameslink operated trains on theThameslink route and byEast Midlands Railway.
It is situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the airport.Luton DART, alight rail/people mover transit, links the station to the airport terminal.
The Bedford–London section of theMidland Main Line was opened on 1 October 1868 by theMidland Railway to provide a new direct route intoLondon St Pancras.[2] The Midland Main Line had stations in the Luton area atLuton,Chiltern Green andHarpenden.
Luton Municipal Airport was opened on 16 July 1938 by theSecretary of State for Air,Kingsley Wood. During World War Two, the airport served as anRAF base forNo. 264 Squadron RAF, but the airport returned to civilian use after the war. From the 1950s and 1960s, the airport's business increased with the growth of thepackage holiday market (later assisted by a popular 1977television advert forCampari featuringLorraine Chase which mentioned the airport).[3][4] The nearest railway station to Luton Airport wasLuton railway station, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) away inLuton town centre; although the Midland Main Line line passed close to Luton Airport, for the first 60 years of the airport's operation there was no dedicated railway station. To support the increasing passenger traffic, Luton Airport provided a shuttle bus service from Luton to the airport terminal.[5]
In 1999, Luton Airport Parkway was opened. Although it was designed specifically to serveLuton Airport, it was also given theparkway name, a title applied to British railway stations that have been designed as apark and ride railway station with motorists in mind, providing car parking facilities for commuters travelling onwards into London.[6] Because the parkway station was located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Luton Airport, and airport was at the top of a hill, it was still necessary to link to the airport withshuttle buses. Initially these were operated byNational Car Parks on behalf of the airport's owners and provided passengers with a free transfer.[7] In January 2008 the free shuttle bus service was replaced by a more frequent, but chargeable, service provided byFirst Capital Connect.[citation needed]
With the opening of the cross-LondonThameslink route 11 years earlier, the new station provided a direct rail link from Luton Airport to central and south London,Gatwick Airport andBrighton, as well as the Midland Mainline Routes to theEast Midlands.[8] In November 2008, the station became the first on the Thameslink route to have its platforms extended in order to accommodate twelve-coach trains as part of theThameslink Programme.[9] In April 2013, a new northern entrance was opened on Kimpton Road, Luton.[citation needed]
Contactless bank cards (but notOyster cards) became valid for journeys to and from London from October 2019.[10][11]
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Services at Luton Airport Parkway are operated byEast Midlands Railway andThameslink mostly usingClass 360 and700EMUs.
East Midlands Railway
East Midlands Railway runs most of their services under the EMR Connect /Luton Airport Express banner, after it became an official separate brand in 2023.[12]
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[13][14]
On Sundays only, a limited number of intercity East Midlands Railway services betweenNottingham andSheffield and London St Pancras International call at the station usingClass 222DMUs.
On Weekdays, a very limited early morning and late evening service betweenDerby and Nottingham and London St Pancras International calls at the station.[15][16]
Thameslink
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services to and fromOrpington,Sutton,East Grinstead andLittlehampton.
Thameslink also operate a half-hourly night service between Bedford andThree Bridges on Sunday to Friday nights.
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luton | East Midlands Railway | London St Pancras International | ||
| Thameslink | ||||
| Preceding station | Luton DART | Following station | ||
| Terminus | DART | Luton Airport Terminal | ||
Luton DART, a 1.4-mile (2.3 km)light rail/automated guided people mover line, provides a five-minute transfer between Luton Airport Parkway station and Luton Airport. It operates 24 hours a day.[17] The DART platforms are located in a terminus building above the Parkway station, connected to the main-line rail platforms via lifts and escalators and a footbridge.[18][19]
The DART transit was officially opened byKing Charles III in December 2022.[20] It opened to passengers on 10 March 2023 and has replaced the shuttle bus service.[21]
The single fare for the DART is £4.90. Rail tickets marked "Luton Airport" include the price of the DART transit.[22] Concessions are given to Luton residents, and free travel is provided for holders ofconcessionary travel passes and disabledblue badge holders, and for airport workers.[23]
The station is served byArriva buses A, H, X2, X3, Z and 100 between the town centre and airport from the DART's Kimpton Road exit.[24]The main entrance is served by the more ruralCentrebus routes 230, 366, 44 and 45 as well asGrant Palmer's 30.[25]
Until March 2023 a dedicatedairport shuttle bus service was in operation to convey air passengers from the Parkway station to the airport terminal. The single fare was £2.40, and the return fare was £3.80. Rail tickets marked "Luton Airport" included the bus fare.[26][27] The shuttle bus has now been replaced by the Luton DART light rail transit.[21]
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