Stansted Express - Stansted Express Operations - B

 

 

Unlike the Heathrow Express and the Gatwick Express (but like other services between London and Heathrow or Gatwick) the trains also stop at an intermediate station between London and the airport. The Stansted Express stops at Tottenham Hale (which provides interchange with the London Underground Victoria Line).

 

The service takes between 47 and 56 minutes to London Liverpool Street, with trains departing every 30 minutes. Stansted Express offers several ticket types. In addition to the Single and Return tickets, percentage discounts are available for advance bookings, those travelling in pairs with WebDuo and groups with GroupSave.

 

Every Stansted Express ticket comes with money-saving "2FOR1" (two-for-one) offers on some of London's favourite restaurants, shows and attractions like The London Eye, Madame Tussauds, the Sea Life Centre and Thorpe Park resort. Oyster or Contactless payment cards are not valid on Stansted Express services to/from Stansted Airport, but can be used between Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale.

 

 

In May 2009, the former operator of the Stansted Express service, National Express abolished off-peak fares on services from Stansted Airport. Therefore, all fares are considered peak (regardless of day or time travelled) and this is reflected in the price.

 

People who live locally can obtain a discounted ticket by producing ID, though the discounted fare is higher than the previous off-peak fare. In September 2010, advertisements for the Stansted Express at Stansted Airport were banned because they were deemed misleading, advertising a 35-minute journey time to London.

 

The Advertising Standards Authority believed the advertisements might confuse travellers into thinking that the train would reach central London in 35 minutes. Previous operator of the service, National Express defended the adverts, stating that Tottenham Hale allows access to the Victoria Line and also stating that the adverts made no reference to the trains going into central London in 35 minutes.

 

Stansted Express has been accused on various social media platforms and by a vast number of their clients of having devised a scam system that helps them issue fines against legitimate paying passengers. The train company first lets passengers get through the gate by simply tapping their credit cards or oyster cards, it then requires a ticket at arrival.

 

Thousands of fines have been issued as a result to passengers. Getting through the gates by tapping credit cards or oyster card is a common standard mechanism already implemented in all London transport system (Underground, Overground, other railway companies) and it does not require tickets at exit.

 

This fact, along with Stansted Express allowing passengers to enter with the same system and without a ticket, highly contributes to misleading passengers.