Luton Airport Parkway railway station is on the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands. ...

in England, serving south

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

and

Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...

in Bedfordshire. It is situated in

Park Town, Luton Park Town is a district of Luton, just south of the town centre, centred on Park Street, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is roughly bounded by Park Viaduct and Crawley Green Road to the north, New Airpo ...

, and is down the line from

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...

between to the south and to the north. Its three-letter station code is LTN, also the

IATA code IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 character combinations (referred to as unigrams, digrams, trigrams, or tetragrams, respecti ...

for the airport. The station is served by

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...

operated trains on the Thameslink route and by

East Midlands Railway Abellio East Midlands Limited, trading as East Midlands Railway (EMR), is a train operating company in England, owned by Abellio, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. History In March 2017, the Department for Transport a ...

. It is situated approximately west of the airport, to which it is linked by a chargeable shuttle bus service.

History

The Bedford–London section of the

was opened on 1 October 1868 by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

to provide a new direct route into

. The Midland Main Line had stations in the Luton area at , and . Luton Municipal Airport was opened on 16 July 1938 by the

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretar ...

Kingsley Wood Sir Howard Kingsley Wood (19 August 1881 – 21 September 1943) was a British Conservative politician. The son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, he qualified as a solicitor, and successfully specialised in industrial insurance. He became a membe ...

. During World War Two, the airport served as an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

base for

No. 264 Squadron RAF No. 264 Squadron RAF, also known as No. 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. World War I The squadron was first formed during the First World War, from two former Royal Naval Air Service flights, No. 439 ...

, but the airport returned to civilian use after the war. From the 1950s and 1960s, the airport's business increased with the growth of the

package holiday A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the ho ...

market (later assisted by a popular 1977

television advert A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for

Campari Campari () is an Italian alcoholic liqueur, considered an apéritif (20.5%, 21%, 24%, 25%, or 28.5% ABV, depending on the country where it is sold), obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit (including chinotto and cascarilla) in alcohol and ...

featuring

Lorraine Chase Lorraine Chase (born 16 July 1951) is an English actress and former model. She became well known for her strong south east London accent and frequent use of cockney slang, and found fame through a series of television adverts for Campari be ...

which mentioned the airport). The nearest railway station to Luton Airport was

Luton railway station Luton railway station is located in the town centre of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is about three minutes' walk from The Mall Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by Thameslink. History Luton ...

, approximately away in

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. In 1999, Luton Airport Parkway was opened. Although it was designed specifically to serve

, it was also given the ''parkway'' name, a title applied to British railway stations that have been designed as a

park and ride railway station A park and ride railway station is a railway station designed to be used for park and ride. In Belgium Noorderkempen railway station in Brecht, opened in 2009 on the HSL 4 high-speed line, functions as a park and ride for Antwerp and to a lesse ...

with motorists in mind, providing car parking facilities for commuters travelling onwards into London. Because the parkway station was located approximately to the west of Luton Airport, and airport was at the top of a hill, it was still necessary to link to the airport with shuttle buses. Initially these were operated by

National Car Parks National Car Parks (NCP) is a private car park operator, with car parks in towns, cities, airports, London Underground and National Rail stations. History NCP was founded in 1931 by Colonel Frederick Lucas. In October 1948 Sir Ronald Hobson ...

on behalf of the airport's owners and provided passengers with a free transfer. In January 2008 the free shuttle bus service was replaced by a more frequent, but chargeable, service provided by

First Capital Connect First Capital Connect (FCC) was a British train operating company, owned by FirstGroup, that operated the Thameslink and Great Northern sectors from April 2006 to September 2014 which later became the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (T ...

. With the opening of the cross-London Thameslink route 11 years earlier, the new station provided a direct rail link from Luton Airport to central and south London,

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

and , as well as the Midland Mainline Routes to the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

. 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 the

Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the s ...

. In April 2013, a new northern entrance was opened on Kimpton Road, Luton. Contactless bank cards (but not

Oyster card The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...

s) became valid for journeys to and from London from October 2019.

Services

Rail services

Services at Luton Airport Parkway are operated by

and

using and

EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...

. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: East Midlands Railway * 2 tph to

London St Pancras International St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...

* 2 tph to The station is also served by a single daily service to and from and on weekdays only. On Sundays only, a limited number of intercity East Midlands Railway services to and call at the station. Thameslink * 6 tph to of which 4 continue to * 2 tph to via * 2 tph to Three Bridges via * 2 tph to via During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services to and from , , and . Thameslink also operate a half-hourly night service between Bedford and on Sunday to Friday nights.

Shuttle service to London Luton Airport

The station is located approximately to the west of London Luton Airport and a frequent

shuttle bus A shuttle bus is a bus that travels a shorter route in comparison to most bus routes. Typically, shuttle buses travel in both directions between two points. Shuttle buses are designed to transport large groups of people who are all travellin ...

service is provided to convey air passengers from the station to the airport terminal. The shuttle bus journey takes 10 minutes, and buses run every 10 minutes during the day, and at night, buses connect with all trains calling at the station overnight. Rail passengers can book

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

tickets directly to Luton Airport (LUA) which include the transfer bus fare; passengers with tickets to Luton Airport Parkway (LTN) only must pay an additional fare to use the buses. The bus service is provided by

Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise in England. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern (Govia Thameslin ...

. Bus services on the

Luton to Dunstable Busway The Luton-Dunstable Busway is a guided busway system in Bedfordshire, England, which connects the towns of Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Luton with Luton Airport. It was built on the route of a disused railway track and opened in September 201 ...

Route A also connect Parkway to Luton Airport.

Future

Luton DART, a light rail/ automated guided people mover link is currently under construction to link Luton Airport Parkway station to the airport. The £200 million link, scheduled to open in 2022, is being funded by

Luton Borough Council Luton Borough Council (also known as LBC, or Luton Council) is the local authority of Luton, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England ...

and has been designed by the engineering firm Arup. The link will operate 24 hours a day and will offer a 5-minute transfer time between Parkway station and the airport terminal. A new light rail terminus building is currently under construction next to the Parkway station. The DART platforms will be located on a new upper level above the current station, and these will be connected to the main-line rail platforms via a new footbridge with new lifts and escalators. A planning application to build the new line was submitted in 2016, and the link was approved by Luton Borough Council in June 2017. The project involves the construction of bridges over the neighbouring A1081 dual carriageway and tunnels, along with three new stations. The major challenge faced by railway engineers building a rail link here is that the railway station, although located adjacent to the airport perimeter, lies around 40 metres downhill from the airport.

Station facilities

* Four platforms * Four waiting rooms * Newsagent/Cafe * Telephones * ATM * Ticket barriers * FastTicket machine * Toilets * Multistorey car park * Free 20 minute wait car park * The station participates in the

Plusbus Plusbus is an add-on ticket, which can be purchased with National Rail train tickets in the United Kingdom. It allows unlimited travel on participating bus and tram operators' services in the whole urban area of rail-served towns and cities. H ...

scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together for a cheaper price. It is in the same town as

and

Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the nor ...

stations. Luton Airport Parkway stn fast look north.jpg, The mainline platforms File:Luton Airport Parkway railway station MMB 12 222006.jpg, The mainline platforms File:Luton Airport Parkway station - geograph.org.uk - 595613.jpg, Airport shuttle bus in front of the station File:Luton Airport Parkway stn shuttle entrance under construction Feb 2020.jpg, The DART airport transfer terminus under construction File:Luton AP Concourse.jpg, Intermediate-level concourse adjacent to Platform 4

References

External links

{{authority control Railway stations in Bedfordshire DfT Category D stations Buildings and structures in Luton Railway stations opened by Railtrack Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1999 Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway Airport railway stations in the United Kingdom Transport in Luton/Dunstable Urban Area Luton Airport