Luton Airport Parkway railway station
Luton Airport Parkway railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving south Luton and Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It is situated in Park Town, Luton, and is down the line from London St Pancras between to the south and to the north. Its three-letter station code is LTN, also the IATA code for the airport. The station is served by Thameslink operated trains on the Thameslink route and by East Midlands Railway. It is situated approximately west of the airport, to which it is linked by a chargeable shuttle bus service . History. The station was opened in 1999, specifically to serve Luton Airport. Initially it was linked to the airport by free shuttle buses operated by National Car Parks on behalf of the airport's owners. In January 2008 the free shuttle bus service was replaced by a more frequent, but chargeable, service provided by First Capital Connect. In November 2008, the station became the first on the Thameslink route to have its platforms extended in order to accommodate twelve-coach trains as part of the Thameslink Programme. In April 2013, a new northern entrance was opened on Kimpton Road, Luton . Contactless bank cards (but not Oyster cards) became valid for journeys to and from London from October 2019. Service Patterns. Rail services. The typical off peak service from this station as of May 2021 is as follows: Fast "EMR Intercity" services to , and run through the station at high speed but do not call at the station - apart from in the early mornings, late at night and on Sunday mornings, when a limited number of services call to maintain service frequency and provide connections north. Thameslink trains serve several stations in Central London, including London St Pancras International, Farringdon, City  Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge. Shuttle service to London Luton Airport. The station is connected to London Luton Airport by a shuttle bus which takes 10 minutes for the journey. Services run every 10 minutes during the day and connect with all trains calling at the station overnight. The service is provided by Thameslink, and through booking to the airport is available from all National Rail stations. Passengers without through tickets must pay an additional fare to use the buses. Bus services on the Luton to Dunstable Busway Route A also connect Parkway to Luton Airport. Future. Luton DART, a  light rail/ automated guided people mover link is currently under construction to link Luton Airport Parkway station to the airport. The £200 million link, scheduled to open in 2022, is being funded by Luton Borough Council and has been designed by the engineering firm Arup. The link will operate 24 hours a day and will offer a 5-minute transfer time between Parkway station and the airport terminal. The major challenge faced by railway engineers building a rail link here is that the railway station, although located adjacent to the airport perimeter, lies around 40 metres downhill from the  airport. The project involves the construction of bridges over the neighbouring A1081 dual carriageway and tunnels, along with three new stations. The light rail platforms at the Parkway station are being built on a new level above the current main line rail platforms. A planning application was submitted in 2016, and the link was approved by Luton Borough Council in June 2017.