The UK government's airport policy is set out in the White Paper "The Future of Air Transport" (December 2003), which proposes making better use ofavailable capacity and then for new runway capacity to be provided. In response, BAA has submitted a planning application to develop capacity at Stansted Airport from 25 million passengers per annum (mppa) to 35 mppa which was subject to a Planning Inquiry in 2007. BAA is now preparing, and will shortly submit, a second planning application for a new runway and associated development at Stansted, to increase capacity to about 68 mppa. Airport surface access is potentially a major constraint to the development, within the context of the government's spatial development policy (as set out in the Draft East of England Plan, December 2004), with significant regional population and employment growth. Air passenger public transport mode share is one of the highest for any major European airport (40% in 2006)and therefore the challenge has been to improve this strong position for the development. This paper will explore the rail contribution to surface access, and explain the development of the BAA Airport Rail Strategy, which meets the airport requirements within the government's policy that otherroad and rail users are not adversely affected by the new runway. The paper will review the need for a broader Regional Rail Strategy, and explain how the synergies between airport and regional needs can be delivered on the West Anglia Main Line between Cambridge, Stansted and London. The evolving rail policy will be explained (through the DfT Eastern Regional Planning Assessment, the TfL Eastern Route Corridor Plan, the Network Rail Greater Anglia Route Utilisation Strategy, the DfT High Level Output Specification and the emerging regional policy), and how the airport and regional needs will be successfully delivered. For the covering abstract see ITRD E145999
Abstract