National Express increases capacity to Stansted Airport

National Express, Britain’s number one coach company, has received the first six of its new fleet of longer high capacity coaches, which will take to the road at Stansted Airport today.

With 61 seats, 12 more than the standard National Express coach, the tri-axle vehicles are designed to travel on high frequency routes such as the Stansted Airport to London services operating up to every 10 minutes, 24-hours a day. Six vehicles are being rolled out in the first phase of the launch, with 20 expected to be on the road by September 2007. An extra 2000 seats will be available everyday when the roll-out is complete.

Fitted with leather reclining seats, air-conditioning and modern washroom facilities, the coaches are fully accessible and have a bespoke lift for people travelling in a wheelchair. The first of their kind to be manufactured for National Express by Caetano, the vehicles have a rear-steering tag axle for greater manoeuvrability and also feature environmentally-friendly Euro IV engines with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology.

Paul Bunting, Chief Executive, National Express said: “We are committed to continually improving the service we offer to our customers and these new vehicles further upgrade our fleet to make it accessible to all.

“Coaches are one of the most environmentally friendly ways to travel and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of using public transport. We want to ensure we are well positioned to cater for that demand and, as a leading provider of travel services, we are committed to sustainable and responsible travel by providing our customers with the latest vehicles on the market.”

National Express, the official travel supplier to Wembley Stadium and the official supporter to the England Team, have liveried the coaches with the FA’s England Team logo and the Wembley Stadium logo, to show support for the national team and national stadium.

For more information, log on to Nationalexpress.com .