Stansted Express

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 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 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. 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;[4] in 2019 it was reported that the number of penalty charges issued at Stansted Airport was 16,000 per year.[5]

As part of the 1,300 new carriages to expand the UK's passenger rail fleet, Stansted Express was designated to receive 120 new vehicles. In February 2009, it was announced that Bombardier Transportation would produce the new trains.[6] Bombardier announced on 2 April that a contract had been signed for the delivery of the 120 coaches between December 2010 and March 2011.[7] The first of the new Class 379 units entered passenger service on 3 March 2011. The Class 379s were replaced by Class 745/1s, the first of which entered service on 28 July 2020.[8][9]

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
745/1 FLIRT		EMU	100	161	10	Liverpool Street – Stansted Airport	2018–2020

Stansted Express originally used a fleet of five Class 322 EMUs until it was decided to change to a dedicated fleet of nine Class 317/7 EMUs in 2000, further supplemented by twelve Class 317/8s in 2006. The displaced Class 322s were redeployed on several other routes/franchises around the country before settling into their former role in Scotland, working services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and North Berwick; they stayed there for some time before transferring to Northern Rail, working out of Leeds. They eventually returned into workings out of London Liverpool Street on the GEML, as Greater Anglia needed replacements for the Class 360s sent to EMR. They are planned to be put out of service by the end of 2022. Following the arrival of the new Class 379 units on Stansted Express services, the Class 317/8s were used alongside Class 317/5 and 317/6 units as a common pool. However, since Abellio took over the East Anglia franchise on 5 February 2012, all but one of the Class 317/7s have been scrapped.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built	Withdrawn
			mph	km/h
317/7		EMU	100	160	9	Liverpool Street – Stansted Airport	1981–1982	2011
317/8		EMU	100	160	12		1981–1982	2011
322		EMU	100	160	5		1990	2000
379 Electrostar		EMU	100	160	30		2010–2011	2020