Airports Commission chairman Sir Howard Davies has rebuked Network Rail for ignoring a recommendation to improve the London to Stansted rail link.
The commission’s interim report concluded that although there would be no airport expansion at Stansted, there was a need for a “detailed study” and “serious consideration” to laying extra rail lines from the capital to make best use of London’s third airport.
But Network Rail all but ignored the Stansted issue when it laid out plans for a shake-up of the railways in the Anglia region last month.
In a letter to Network Rail, Sir Howard said he had expected it to act on the commission’s findings, The Times reported.
“I consider that [Network Rail’s] draft study is insufficiently ambitious,” he wrote. “I am worried by the lack of attention paid to specific needs of airport users [and] the role that the airport plays in the wider economy.”
Calling for a redrafting of its plans for the Stansted Express line, Sir Howard said that Network Rail must “articulate more clearly the needs of airport users . . . [and] set out at least the early stages of a longer-term strategy for a more ambitious upgrade of the line serving the airport, reflecting the needs of both airport users and other passengers as per the recommendations in the commission’s interim report.”
His criticism was backed by Kevin Bentley, deputy leader of Essex county council, who is also on the board of a consortium of business people and politicians demanding better Stansted links.
“Howard Davies is spot on,” he said. “The proposals totally lack ambition. Network Rail needs to come up with a plan for a sustained programme of improvements to deliver faster and more reliable journeys on the route.”
The London-Stansted-Cambridge consortium wants travel times on the line on which the Stansted Express runs at the moment to be cut to half an hour, compared with the present timetabled journeys of up to an hour.
At issue is a bottleneck south of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, where Stansted Express trains get stuck behind local stopping services.
Network Rail’s consultation on plans for the Eastern Counties prioritised fast-linking Norwich to London, cutting train times by a quarter from Norfolk to an hour and a half.
Network Rail said: “We welcome such input from key groups, as this helps us to shape a better final plan.”
The commission is deciding on whether to recommend new runways at Heathrow or Gatwick.