LONDON Luton Airport has announced a revised scheme to connect the airport with Luton Parkway station via a Mass Passenger Transit (MPT) system.
The news comes as the airport recorded a year-on-year passenger growth for October of more than 18% to 1.3million.
The MPT idea is being developed to encourage passengers to travel to and from the airport via a more sustainable and efficient means of transport. It will be a fully automated and driverless system, about 1.3 miles (2.2km) in length, and would operate 24 hours each day, with journeys taking around five minutes.
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The projected route (see map) lies mostly on land within the Luton Borough Council area, with a small section controlled by Central Bedfordshire Council. A planning application will be submitted at the end of January 2017 and, if granted, construction of the £200million scheme could get underway in the autumn for completion in 2021.
A MPT terminal would be built alongside Parkway station at Stirling Place, from where the two-track route would run on a mixture of embankments and shallow cuttings to the airport.
In a change from previous schemes, the airport stop will not be in the terminal building but underground, a short walk away.
A linking concourse and passenger overbridge are required across the Network Rail tracks at Luton Airport Parkway to connect the National Rail and MPT stations.
The four-year construction timetable would also include building a new tunnel under the airport’s operational taxiway; constructing new tunnels and a station within the restricted Central Terminal area and approach; digging a ‘trough’
for the MPT through the
Mid-Stay carpark; and designing a ‘Gateway Bridge’ to cross the A1081 Airport Way.
Read more News and Features in December’s issue of The RM
