Rail services to Stansted should operate round the clock, or start running from early in the morning to help business travellers, according to the owners of London’s third airport.
The refranchising of the East Anglia rail network should be used to bring train services to the airport into the 21st century, Manchester Airports Group claims.
It is calling for Stansted-bound trains to start leaving Liverpool Street station in London from 3.40am by 2017, with a longer-term aim of having services operating 24 hours a day.
The airport’s managing director Andy Harrison, quoted by The Times, said: “It is important that the Department for Transport recognises the urgent need for improvements in rail connectivity to Stansted.”
The government is due to start the relicensing of the East Anglia rail franchise when incumbent Abellio is expected to face competition from a range of other operators including National Express and FirstGroup.
Stansted is separately calling for Network Rail to lay more tracks between the airport and London to bypass bottlenecks and halve the existing 45-minute journey time.