NEARLY 50% OF LONDON SOUTHEND"S PASSENGERS CATCH THE TRAIN

London Southend Airport has revealed that almost half of its passengers use the train to get to and from the Essex gateway.

According to an airport survey, 47% of its passengers used trains to travel to the airport between December 3, 2019, and January 6 2020.  

This was up significantly from a third (33%), taken from a poll of customers at the start of last year (February 2019). 

By way of comparison, 24% of passengers said they were dropped off by friends/family and 17% said they drove and parked at the airport in the December period.

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London Southend has no hesitation in claiming that the continued trend toward using the train as the preferred means of getting to the airport has also contributed to improved air quality around the airport. 

Indeed, NO2 levels at the airport have consistently reduced every year for eight years running to little more than half of the UK Government set limit.

The rise in people travelling to the airport via train comes after the introduction of new early arrival and late departure trains being operated by Greater Anglia trains. 

The new train timetable improves access to what is already one of London’s best-connected airports, with up to six services an hour to and from Liverpool Street station. 

Glyn Jones, CEO of London Southend operator, Stobart Aviation, said: "People can travel from the heart of London in little over 50 minutes and benefit from up to six trains an hour.

“We are strongly supportive of our passengers using our great train services, as part of our progressing work on sustainable development at the airport.”