£200 million Luton Airport rail link gets backing of councillors

A proposed £200 million rail link between Luton Airport and the town’s Parkway train station has received planning permission from the local council.It’s hoped that the new Mass Passenger Transit (MPT) system will cut journey times to St Pancras International in London to less than 30 minutes.Passengers currently have to wait for shuttle buses to take them from the Parkway station to the airport, but they would be replaced by driverless trains in the new scheme.It’s predicted that transfers would take around five minutes on the 1.4 mile route, compared to 15 minutes as things stand, and airport bosses are confident it will also encourage more people to use public transport instead of driving.Councillors voted unanimously to give the plans the green light at a meeting on Wednesday night, and work should get underway in the autumn.The project is due to be finished by the spring of 2021.