Stansted Airport railway station
Stansted Airport railway station is on a branch line off the West Anglia Main Line in the east of England and was opened in 1991 to provide a rail link to London Stansted Airport. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street station, to which a frequent dedicated service called the Stansted Express operates. The short branch line was constructed at a cost of £44 million and opened by British Rail to coincide with the completion of the airport's new terminal building. Layout. Platforms 1 and 3 run the full length of the  station and are used for Stansted Express and services. The shorter platform number 2 is used for the CrossCountry-operated services to Birmingham New Street. In 2011 platform 1 was extended to accommodate two trains simultaneously in combinations of up to 16 coaches, and platform 2 was extended to accommodate four-coach trains. The station is in a concrete box structure that is unusually above ground level rather than below ground, being constructed under the terminal building. This is evident at the western end of the platforms which are left open and is a similar design to Wembley Central railway  station. Services. Services at Stansted Airport are operated by Greater Anglia (including services under the Stansted Express brand) and CrossCountry. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: