I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean easier/faster
and/or cheaper.

TIA.

--- Pete said...

I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean
easier/faster and/or cheaper.

Hi, Pete. Stanstead is easier, because the station is part of the
airport buildings. From Luton, you have to take a bus from the airport
to the station.

--

"The guests were -- like herself -- invisible! It appeared to be the
worst story ever." -- MegaHal

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 14:57:07 +0100, "Pete" wrote:

I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean easier/faster
and/or cheaper.

Both airports have their own stations with direct trains to London.

Luton is served by Thameslink to Kings Cross. You can get the Tube to
the Westminster area easily from Kings Cross. Please note that
Thameslink is currently split in half and there are significant
construction works at Kings Cross so there may be some more hassle
opting for that route.

Stansted has a direct rail service (Stansted Express) into London
Liverpool St with an intermediate stop at Tottenham Hale for the
Victoria Line direct to Victoria which is in the heart of Westminster.
You can buy a through ticket.

http://nrekb.nationalrail.co.uk/links.htm has links to the relevant
train company websites for you to look at prices and timetables.

HTH
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

"Solar Penguin" wrote in message
...
--- Pete said...

I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean
easier/faster and/or cheaper.

Hi, Pete. Stanstead is easier, because the station is part of the
airport buildings. From Luton, you have to take a bus from the airport
to the station.

--

"The guests were -- like herself -- invisible! It appeared to be the
worst story ever." -- MegaHal



Yeah - that makes all the difference. The luton shuttle bus makes timing
your journey difficult. Also, there are no "Luton Express" services (yet),
so you have to use regular trains, and that involves making sure it stops at
the right station, and whether it's a fast train, or a stopping service (get
the wrong one, and you've added 20/30 mins to your trip).

If you have a choice, Stanstead all the way.

"Pete" wrote in message
...
I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean easier/faster
and/or cheaper.



Stansted is London's rural airport with a branch line rail service to London
which takes on average 50 minutes and runs as little as every half hour
even in the early evening and not at all during the night. Luton is on the
main line, has up to 9 trains an hour and a journey time of as little as 23
minutes. Yes there is a shuttle bus but it runs every few minutes and
takes just 5 minutes to get to the station.

Don't forget at Stansted you have to catch a train to get from the stands to
the terminal. By the time you have got out of Stansted you could be half way
to London from Luton.

"informer" wrote in message
...

"Pete" wrote in message
...
I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean
easier/faster
and/or cheaper.



Stansted is London's rural airport with a branch line rail service to
London
which takes on average 50 minutes and runs as little as every half hour
even in the early evening and not at all during the night. Luton is on
the
main line, has up to 9 trains an hour and a journey time of as little as
23
minutes. Yes there is a shuttle bus but it runs every few minutes and
takes just 5 minutes to get to the station.

Don't forget at Stansted you have to catch a train to get from the stands
to
the terminal.

usually not if you fly with ryanair

tim

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 17:19:17 GMT, "d" wrote:

"Solar Penguin" wrote in message
...
--- Pete said...


Yeah - that makes all the difference. The luton shuttle bus makes timing
your journey difficult. Also, there are no "Luton Express" services (yet),
so you have to use regular trains, and that involves making sure it stops at
the right station, and whether it's a fast train, or a stopping service (get
the wrong one, and you've added 20/30 mins to your trip).

If you have a choice, Stanstead all the way.

My usual comment, to OP and followups:

There is only one A in Stansted!

Pete wrote:
I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean easier/faster
and/or cheaper.

All hail Luton! It may need a short 5-minute free shuttle bus ride to
the station, but from plane to train it probably works out the same as
Stansted's integrated station as Stansted requires a much longer walk
through the terminal...

Once you are at Luton Airport Parkway, currently almost all Thameslink
trains call at West Hampstead and reach it within half an hour; at West
Hampstead there is a 5-minute walk between stations and then you're on
the Jubilee line and can be at Westminster station in 20 minutes.

The train from Luton gets to London quicker than the train from
Stansted, which is further away.

Train fare is about £12 or a bit more for a Travelcard; this is cheaper
than the train from Stansted. Coaches are also available from both
airports and I think they cost about the same; both will drop you off at
Victoria which is not far from Westminster (20 minute walk or 5 mins on
Tube or bus), but again the journey from Luton is faster as it is nearer.

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - transport projects in London

Paul Corfield wrote:

Luton is served by Thameslink to Kings Cross.

St. Pancras, actually, which is next to Kings Cross and shares its
Tube station.
--
Michael Hoffman

"Huge" wrote

And when you arrive at St.Pancras you're ... in a building site.



But not for too much longer