Watch: First look inside new electric National Express coach for London Stansted

National Express is trialling a new electric coach running between central London and Stansted airport.

Powered with electricity from renewable sources at Stansted Airport, the new vehicle features LED mood lighting, leather reclining seats, air conditioning and onboard charging.

National Express is the first firm in the country to trial Chinese manufacturer Yutong’s "state-of-the-art" GTe14 model, which will be in service for four weeks. 

This latest trial follows a previous pilot in 2020 when bosses tested Yutong’s previous TCe12 model on the A9 service between Stansted and Stratford.

The coach will run up to 21 hours a day with top-up charging during scheduled stop times in between departures at Stansted Airport, and a longer charging period at the end of each day.

John Boughton, commercial director for National Express UK and Ireland, said: “We're helping to push the coach industry forward, driving innovation and efficiencies in vehicles and infrastructure as we work towards a zero emission UK coach fleet. At the same time, we’re delighted to be supporting our partners such as Stansted Airport to achieve their own sustainability goals.

“More and more people are choosing to travel with National Express as a reliable, convenient and affordable way to get around, and we're responding by investing in new vehicles and technology and delivering a brilliant customer experience.”

Gareth Powell, managing director at Stansted Airport, said: We’re fully committed to the sustainable and responsible growth of London Stansted, so we are delighted to support this exciting and unique trial by National Express of a brand-new electric coach on airport services to and from London. We have already taken great strides to reduce our emissions at the airport.

"We have sourced all our electricity from renewable sources since April 2013, and airport operations under our direct control have been recognised as carbon neutral since 2018. Our focus is to continue driving forward on our commitment to reach net zero carbon operations by 2038 and will soon begin construction of a 14.3MW solar farm to meet the airport’s current and increasing electricity demands, including from the growing use of private and commercial electric vehicles.

“This trial of a battery-electric coach is another great example of exploring innovative ways with our airport partners such as National Express to continue driving down carbon emissions across all airport-related activity.”

The electric coach entered commercial service on Wednesday March 13 and will be trialled until April 9.

London Stansted Airport served 28 million passengers in 2023, making it the third busiest airport in London and the fourth busiest in the UK.