Government Gives London Luton Airport Expansion Plans the Go-ahead!

05 April 2025

Press Release

Government Gives London Luton Airport Expansion Plans the Go-ahead!

BRTA is shocked by the sudden government go-ahead for London Luton Airport Expansion Plans. This is because, along with other airports around the outer M25 cordon like Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, these expansion decisions are in a context of already overheated South-East systems whereby congestion, delay, overcrowding and pollution blight, means the adjacent areas already take more than their fair share of blight and this consideration and associated NHS and other costs, are not being taken into consideration.

BRTA wants to see more and better rail links to these airports, in Luton's case the following:

1. A new 8-coach bay platform and new 'South Chiltern' service linking alternatively Heathrow and Reading via the proposed to reopen North-West London 'Dudding Hill Line'. 

2. A study and support for a new direct Luton-Dunstable/A5 Parkway Station-Milton Keynes Central via linking to the West Coast Main Line south of built Leighton Buzzard, to enable easier access sustainably to/from the airport and the principal north-south main lines to reduce traffic proliferation across the South Bedfordshire Corridor (SBC) from day-one of airport expansion.

BRTA CEO said "without more and better rail links, Luton, Stansted and Heathrow will be blighted and the environment will take a dip in quality of life experiences. Airport expansion has pros and cons, but if you are going to prescribe down development of this magnitude, then some consideration of better and more rail access from all directions should have been included, and we are left thinking it is at best an after-thought."

BRTA continues to make the need for the additional rail link understood and calls on studies, route identification and powers to be directed to delivery agency of some descript, to deliver them in a timely manner, wider nationwide benefits can boost regeneration on back of them, so a sound investment, whereas more roads upgrades and proliferation, eats land for more parking, loss of green spaces and worsening quality of life for residents across large tracts of the landscape."

Further Comment: Richard Pill, BRTA CEO 

01234 225068 or email richard.brta@gmail.com

Background: https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/projects/london-luton-airport-expansion-granted-consent/150090/#:~:text=The%20secretary%20of%20state%20for,year%20from%2018m%20to%2032m.

What you can do:

:

1. Join BRTA: https://brtarail.com/become-a-member/

2. Email your MP and give our views support: https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons

3. Vote with your feet, wallets and at the ballot box!

Join our free email loop via richard.brta@gmail.com

Open Access could be an asset to local rail expansion projects in addition to regular service patterns?

In the current issue of Rail (2nd to April 16, 2025 page 8) an open access bid includes Nottingham Leicester Bedford to Oxford Bristol is discussed.

https://www.railmagazine.com/news/2025/03/25/two-new-open-access-cross-country-routes-set-to-be-submitted-to-rail-regulator

The railway reopening Northampton to Market Harborough (N2MH) would could bring the rail journey timings further by potentially 20-30 minutes, making your bid potentially even more attractive.

With the support of 2 local MP’s the BRTA is leading a campaign to complete an updated assessment on potentially reopening N2MH, which was only closed in 1982

https://brtarail.com/n2mh/

An incomplete 2020 Network Rail report concluded full reopening was possible and gave a Northampton to Leicester Journey time of 34 minutes (the present rail table is well over 100 minutes and 2 changes)

The BRTA website includes the redacted 2020 Network Rail report, as well as the recently proposed Northampton to Old Oak Common line proposed by England Economic Heartlands

If we could secure support for the N2MH report to be completed and updated that would be extremely helpful.

I would be very happy to discuss further.

We have a public meeting in Market Harborough on April 12th.

Spanner is Government's Great British Railways, will they cater and include Open Access on top of regular services or thwart it on ideological fit grounds? Jury is out, but lobbying is going on. If it can and can be given more credence in the wider regenerative scheme of things like being pegged or associated with a reopening, then that is for BRTA a positive, especially when noone else is taking the lead on reopenings generally? Bideford - GWR interested, Fawley, Open Access by First Group, so N2MH with whoever does Nottingham-Bristol/Old Oak Common, we have that chance too of adoption of projects like East-West Rail was and then they run with the ball.

Our MP's support should be made aware if SLC gives any support and asked to support their proposal as GBR goes through Parliament to have clauses like "if pegged to a reopening, resulting in network expansion, should be given favourable consideration in addition and above local services".

1. Check: https://brtarail.com/events/

2. Join BRTA: https://brtarail.com/become-a-member/

3. Email your local MP and ask for their support/forward to BRT responses: https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons

4. See: https://harboroughfm.co.uk/new-campaign-to-restore-rail-link/