The Stansted Express: times, tickets and fares to London

The Stansted Express is the direct train between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street, operated by Greater Anglia. It takes about 48 minutes to Liverpool Street and calls at two stops on the way, so it covers most of central London once you change onto the Underground or the Elizabeth Line. The airport station is a terminus, directly under the terminal building.

Two stations cover the route in practice. Liverpool Street is the central terminus, in the City and on the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Elizabeth lines. Tottenham Hale, about 37 minutes from the airport, is the stop for north London and the Victoria line, the quickest way to King's Cross, Oxford Circus and Victoria, and the fastest London station to reach the airport from.

Stratford is listed by the operator but no longer has a through train. Checked across departures through the day in both directions on 28 July 2026, every rail journey between Stratford and the airport changed at Tottenham Hale, and Greater Anglia's own journey planner returns no direct trains for the pair. For east London and Canary Wharf the National Express A9 coach is now the only direct public transport, and the Stratford to Stansted page compares both.

For where the train sits against the coach, the taxi and driving, the Stansted to London comparison puts every mode side by side. For the wider rail network and any connection beyond London, see the trains to Stansted page.

Trains run every 15 minutes during the day, seven days a week, easing to roughly every 30 minutes in the early morning and late evening. The journey to Liverpool Street is about 48 minutes whatever the time of day, because the line is dedicated and the train does not get held up in traffic the way a road service can.

It is not a 24-hour service, and this is the detail to plan around for an early or late flight. The first train out of the airport is around 05:30 (a little later on Tuesday to Thursday), and the last is 00:30. Heading to the airport, the first train leaves Liverpool Street between about 03:40 and 04:40 depending on the day, with the last around 23:25. If your flight falls outside those windows, the National Express coach runs through the night, and a taxi is the other option. Check the live timetable before you travel, because times shift with engineering work.

The cheapest fare is the Advance single, from £9.90 to Liverpool Street when booked well ahead. These are limited, sold from 3 days to 6 months before travel, and the lowest £9.90 fares usually need booking at least three months out. Against an on-the-day Anytime single of around £25, that is a saving of up to 57%, which is why booking early matters more here than on almost any other airport train.

The other ticket types cover different trips:

• Off-Peak: cheaper than Anytime for travelling at quieter times, a good middle option for a solo traveller who cannot commit to a fixed Advance train.
• Open return: lets you come back any time within one month, useful if your return date is not fixed.
• Two travelling together: book as a pair and the fare can drop to £18.75 per person each way.
• Groups of three or four: save up to 45% on the standard fare booked together.
• Children: under 5 travel free, and 5 to 15 pay a reduced child fare. Railcards are accepted for the usual discounts.
• Season tickets: weekly, monthly or annual, for regular travellers between the airport and London.

The cheapest Advance fares are sold only through the official Stansted Express website, so that is the place to book ahead. You can also buy from the ticket machines and the staffed desk at the station on the day, but you lose the Advance saving. A group of two or more can sometimes beat the train on the coach, so weigh it up on the comparison page before booking.

The station is directly under the terminal, about a 2 minute walk down lifts, escalators and ramps from the check-in and arrivals area. Follow the signs for the railway station inside the terminal and you cannot miss it. There are ticket machines and a staffed rail information desk, and the station is open daily except Christmas Day.

One rule catches people out, and it is worth repeating because it is expensive. Contactless payment (a bank card or mobile wallet) works on the Stansted Express, but Oyster cards are not valid to or from the airport. The gates at Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale will still let you tap in with an Oyster, so you can reach the airport with no valid ticket and be charged a Penalty Fare of £100 plus the full single fare, reduced by £50 if you pay within 21 days. Use contactless, buy a ticket before you travel, or pre-book online, and keep Oyster for your onward journey across London. If you are driving to the station as a season-ticket holder, the car parks near the station are covered on the parking page.

Every train has luggage racks for cases and overhead space for smaller bags. At busy times, particularly the early-morning departure wave, the racks fill up and large suitcases can end up in the aisle, so board early and keep an eye on your bag. There is step-free access throughout the airport station, with lifts and ramps between the platform and the terminal, which makes the train one of the easier modes with heavy luggage or a pushchair.

The station has full step-free access and fitted induction loops for hearing assistance, and it is staffed daily for help with tickets and boarding. If you need passenger assistance, arrange it with Greater Anglia ahead of time through the station team. For help inside the terminal itself, the Transport hub links through to the airport's special assistance arrangements.

The train is the fastest and most reliable way into central London, but it is not the cheapest. Set against the main alternatives, the trade is clear.

Against the coach. The National Express coach costs less, from around £7 to a central stop booked ahead, and runs 24 hours a day, but it takes 75 to 95 minutes against the train's 48 and can be slowed by traffic. For a tight schedule or an onward connection, the train wins; for the lowest fare or an overnight flight, the coach does.

Against a taxi. A taxi or minicab is door to door with no changes, but at roughly £75 to £120 to central London it only makes sense late at night, with heavy bags, or split across three or four people. The train beats it on price and, in traffic, often on time too.

The full side-by-side, including driving and the other London airports, is on the Stansted to London hub.

The Stansted Express is generally punctual, but the line has its quirks. If your train is delayed by 15 minutes or more, you can claim money back under Greater Anglia's Delay Repay scheme, so keep your ticket. The Stansted Express help line is 0345 600 7245 for live queries.

The bigger thing to plan around is weekend engineering work. Several weekends a year, buses replace trains for part of the route between the airport and London, which can add an hour to the trip. Always check before a weekend journey: the train disruption page explains the refund rules and the fallback options, and the live Greater Anglia service updates show what is running on your date.