Stansted Airport railway station

The construction of the station and its branch line was part of the development of Stansted into London's third airport. In June 1985, the UK Parliament approved the expansion of the airport. In November 1985, British Rail submitted a proposal for a rail link to the airport, which included a new double-track branch line connecting to the West Anglia Main Line, north of (which was Stansted railway station at the time). The line included a bored tunnel under the airport's runway, designed by Sir William Halcrow & Partners, and built by John Murphy Ltd. Construction began in 1988 and the branch was completed in 1991, at a cost of £44 million. ==Layout==

Stansted Airport station is situated in a concrete box structure at ground level, directly beneath the terminal building, with the western end of the platforms which left open. It was designed with three platforms, located at ground level beneath the terminal. Platforms 1 and 3 run the full length of the station; they are used for the Stansted Express and services to . The shorter platform 2 is used for the CrossCountry-operated services to . In 2011, platform 1 was extended to accommodate two trains simultaneously, in combinations of up to 16 coaches, and platform 2 was extended to accommodate four-coach trains. With the planned introduction of the contactless travel payment option pending, gated ticket barriers were installed in 2025. == Future plans ==

It was designed with passive provision to become through station, to allow for a possible future extension of the railway line towards Braintree. Proposals for this extension have periodically resurfaced, including a 2020 review by Essex County Council exploring the feasibility of reintroducing the Bishop's Stortford–Braintree branch line in Essex. ==Services==

Services at Stansted Airport are operated by two train operating companies; the typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: Greater Anglia, including services under the Stansted Express brand: • 4 tph to , via ; of which: • 2 tph call at • 2 tph call at , of which 1 tph also calls at • 1 tph to , via and . CrossCountry: • 1 tph to , via Cambridge, Ely, , and . ==References==