Editing Stansted Express (section)

==Operations==
===Services===
Unlike the [[Heathrow Express]] and the [[Gatwick Express]] (but like other services between London and [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]] or [[Gatwick Airport|Gatwick]]) the trains also stop at an intermediate station between London and the airport. The Stansted Express stops at [[Tottenham Hale station|Tottenham Hale]] (which provides interchange with the London Underground [[Victoria line|Victoria Line]]). The service takes between 46 and 56 minutes to London Liverpool Street, with trains departing every 15 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Caswell |first1=Mark |title=Stansted Express to return to four trains per hour throughout the day |url=https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2023/09/19/stansted-express-to-return-to-four-trains-per-hour-throughout-the-day/ |access-date=25 September 2023 |work=Business Traveller |date=19 September 2023}}</ref>

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 London Aquarium|Sea Life Centre]] and [[Thorpe Park]] resort. [[Oyster card|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.

{{As of|2024|12}}, Stansted Express' off-peak services Monday to Friday are:<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/timetables |title = Timetables |publisher = Abellio Greater Anglia |access-date = 27 December 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" | Stansted Express
|-
! style="width:300px;"| Route !! {{abbr|tph|trains per hour}} !! Calling at 
|-
| {{rws|London Liverpool Street}} - {{rws|Stansted Airport}} || 4 || {{cslist|{{rws|Tottenham Hale}}, {{rws|Harlow Town}} (2tph), {{rws|Bishop's Stortford}} (2tph), {{rws|Stansted Mountfitchet}} (1tph)}}
*Services alternate between Harlow Town and Bishop's Stortford; with Stansted Mountfitchet being served by one Harlow Town service.
|}
{{notelist}}

===Criticism===
[[Transport for London]] operates a pay-as-you-go system for public transport services. Passengers indicate the journey they are making by presenting a [[Contactless payment|contactless payment card]] or [[Oyster card]] to readers at the start and end of the journey; the system then uses this information to automatically charge the appropriate fare. At stations fitted with [[Turnstile|ticket barriers]], the readers are attached to the barriers and the barriers open when a valid card is presented. Stansted Airport, being located some distance from London, is outside the area covered by this system, so PAYG cannot be used to travel there - instead, a ticket must be purchased. With 'London' in the name of the airport, rail passengers and visitors to the airport might assume that they would be able to tap out using a contactless card when arriving at the airport from London stations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Corfield |first=Gareth |date=2024-02-04 |title=Kemi Badenoch intervenes over 'unfair' London Stansted train fare penalties |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/04/kemi-badenoch-unfair-london-stansted-train-fines/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> 

London stations served by the Stansted Express nonetheless have ticket barriers with readers for contactless and Oyster cards because they are also served by other trains on which PAYG can be used. This means it is possible for a passenger to board a Stansted Express train having entered the station using their card, and then travel to Stansted Airport, where they are charged a penalty for travelling without a valid ticket. This has led to accusations that Stansted Express is operating a scam by penalising passengers who are unaware that they have done anything wrong;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.stanstedexpress.com | title=Stansted Express is rated "Bad" with 1.2 / 5 on Trustpilot | date=18 October 2023 }}</ref> in 2019 it was reported that the number of penalty charges issued at Stansted Airport was 16,000 per year.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21443547.16-000-rail-travellers-stansted-fined-believing-use-oyster-card/ | title=16,000 rail travellers to Stansted fined after believing they could use Oyster card | date=22 January 2019 }}</ref> The plan of rolling out contactless (and even Oyster) to Stansted is subject to 'necessary funding and approvals [sic] from the Department for Transport'.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/stansted-express-train-fines-contactless-london-b2491264.html Stansted Express passengers slapped with 'unfair' £100 fines for using contactless payment] 6 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024</ref> The [[Mayor of London]], [[Sadiq Khan|Sir Sadiq Khan]] has expressed his interest in the rollout of contactless payment on the line to remove the current confusion with the system in 2024.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/05/sadiq-khan-contactless-payments-stansted-airport/ Sadiq Khan wants contactless payments extended to Stansted Airport] 5 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024</ref>

In September 2024, it was reported that Stansted Express services to Stansted Airport, along with 47 unnamed stations across London and South-East England, will be included in contactless and oyster card payments from the second half of 2025 with £27{{nbsp}}million of government funding.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/stansted-airport-train-contactless-tickets-dft-tap-on-london-b1179829.html | title=At last! Stansted airport to join Contactless train ticket network | date=4 September 2024 }}</ref>