Greater Anglia’s Stansted Express trial of overnight services on Fridays has been well received during its first four weeks of service, providing customers with a new rail travel option for late arrivals and early-morning departures from the popular Essex airport.
Over one thousand additional journeys have been taken since the trial’s launch on Friday 3 July, which will continue to operate every Friday night until 26 September 2026.
Running at roughly half-hourly intervals between 23:50 and 5:00, the additional services include trains between Stansted Airport and Tottenham Hale (where customers can connect with the Victoria line Night Tube), as well as a number of services to and from London Liverpool Street.
Jamie O’Donnell, Assistant Group Station Manager at Greater Anglia, said:
“It’s been fantastic to see passengers embrace this new option so quickly, and it’s clear there’s an appetite for a late-night and early-morning link between the airport and the capital.
“This trial represents a significant step forward as we look at ways of connecting Stansted to London by train twenty-four hours a day, wherever practical, in a similar way to other major international airports.
“Our passengers can now arrive by train for the first outbound flights, and those landing past midnight can connect straight into London – neither of which were previously possible. Additionally, it supports airport workers, with many operating on late night or early morning shifts.”
Passenger data collected during the trial, including how the offer is utilised by the public during early morning hours, will be used to assess public demand and travel patterns to help inform decisions on future plans for the service.
The trial has been made possible through close collaboration between Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia, enabling engineering and maintenance programmes to be better coordinated and delivered, while creating additional opportunities for customers to travel.
It is the latest in a series of customer-focused improvements at Stansted Airport following the introduction of contactless pay as you go travel earlier this year, and forms part of wider work across GBR Anglia to deliver practical benefits for passengers during the transition to Great British Railways.
