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Author Topic: Airport connections  (Read 2438 times)
grahame
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« on: April 18, 2018, 13:57:08 »

Direct airport services - becoming ever more important and useful?

From Plymouth Herald

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Plymouth needs a railway linking the city straight to Exeter airport, says the outgoing head of Devon Chamber of Commerce.

George Cowcher, who has just announced he is to stand down at the end of June 2018, said that whatever happens to Plymouth’s former airport site, Plymouth will never have the air connectivity enjoyed by the county’s capital.

He said therefore the city, and region, should push for a rail link which would take travellers from Plymouth to Exeter airport.

From Cambridge News

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The changes mean it will be easier for holidaymakers to get away, with more direct Thameslink services from Cambridge to Brighton via Gatwick - currently there is only one service a day.

Passengers will be able to get on a brand new train at Cambridge Station, and not get off until they reach the airport or the seaside town.

There will also be a new direct Thameslink service from Peterborough to Horsham via London Bridge and Gatwick Airport.

Might there be great sense in extending the Gatwick to Reading service on to Oxford, and the Southampton Airport to Salisbury service on to Swindon?
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« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2018, 14:44:05 »

Direct airport services - becoming ever more important and useful?

From Plymouth Herald

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Plymouth needs a railway linking the city straight to Exeter airport.....

This is just never going to happen; for those travelling by road the access to Exeter Airport via the M5/A30 is already pretty good. An essentially hourly EXD» (Exeter St Davids - next trains)><Airport bus service (Stagecoach 56) for onward transportation of rail pax is almost certainly sufficient for the foreseeable future.
Had the proposal to move the passenger terminal infrastructure to the northern side of the airport proceeded then perhaps a dedicated bus/tram/monorail ( Grin) link from/to Cranbrook would have been a possibility. Even then there would have to be a major alteration to the Devon Metro service as currently defined to provide any through rail journeys. 
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2018, 16:26:25 »

Plymouth needs its airport back!
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SandTEngineer
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« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2018, 18:50:08 »

Plymouth needs its airport back!
No it doesn't........ Tongue  The city has coped OK since its closure and we really need affordable homes to be built on the site.
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« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2018, 19:46:14 »

Plymouth needs its airport back!
No it doesn't........ Tongue  The city has coped OK since its closure and we really need affordable homes to be built on the site.

You're confusing two different issues. More housing in Plymouth and an airport are not mutually exclusive. Have you heard of Sherford?

Personally I'd like to see Plymouth do better than just "cope OK", an airport with swift links to London and beyond is key to that.
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« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2018, 21:31:09 »

If Luton can do it why can't Exeter or Bristol......

http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-04-17/work-begins-on-new-225-million-rail-link-at-luton-airport/
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« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2018, 22:14:05 »

Plymouth needs its airport back!
No it doesn't........ Tongue  The city has coped OK since its closure and we really need affordable homes to be built on the site.

You're confusing two different issues. More housing in Plymouth and an airport are not mutually exclusive. Have you heard of Sherford?

Personally I'd like to see Plymouth do better than just "cope OK", an airport with swift links to London and beyond is key to that.

Well, at one time I used to regularly fly from Plymouth to Heathrow on my way to Central London.  Taking into account check-in time, flight time, circulating Heathrow waiting to land and travelling to Central London took more than the 2 hours 57 minutes that the Golden Hind used to do the trip in.... Tongue

...and yes, I do know where Sherford is thank you... Shocked
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2018, 08:25:31 »

Plymouth needs its airport back!
No it doesn't........ Tongue  The city has coped OK since its closure and we really need affordable homes to be built on the site.

You're confusing two different issues. More housing in Plymouth and an airport are not mutually exclusive. Have you heard of Sherford?

Personally I'd like to see Plymouth do better than just "cope OK", an airport with swift links to London and beyond is key to that.

Well, at one time I used to regularly fly from Plymouth to Heathrow on my way to Central London.  Taking into account check-in time, flight time, circulating Heathrow waiting to land and travelling to Central London took more than the 2 hours 57 minutes that the Golden Hind used to do the trip in.... Tongue

...and yes, I do know where Sherford is thank you... Shocked

Blimey Plymouth to Heathrow? Must be almost 20 years ago?

Latterly, the London City airport route was hugely successful, I remember leaving my office and being back in Plymouth within 2 hours...........
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« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2018, 10:12:40 »

Latterly, the London City airport route was hugely successful, I remember leaving my office and being back in Plymouth within 2 hours...........

Presumably not successful enough to be financially viable for any carriers though?

Always a shame when transport links are cut of course.  An often overlooked benefit of the rail franchise model is that routes and services (including marginal and loss making but socially beneficial ones) HAVE to be provided at a specified level by the operator with very few exceptions.  So there’s an element of security that you increasingly don’t get with many air and rural bus routes.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2018, 10:34:20 »

Latterly, the London City airport route was hugely successful, I remember leaving my office and being back in Plymouth within 2 hours...........

Presumably not successful enough to be financially viable for any carriers though?

Always a shame when transport links are cut of course.  An often overlooked benefit of the rail franchise model is that routes and services (including marginal and loss making but socially beneficial ones) HAVE to be provided at a specified level by the operator with very few exceptions.  So there’s an element of security that you increasingly don’t get with many air and rural bus routes.

That route was extremely viable and the airport was one of the few experiencing growth in 2009 but the shortsightedness of letting the London slots go finished it - along with local politics/Sutton Harbour Holdings "priorities" (the less said about SHH the better)

4 out of 5 local businesses supported maintaining the airport for the good of the city and only one third of those surveyed felt that rail/road links are adequate for a City of Plymouth's size.

Exeter airport has picked up the slack and good luck to them but it's very much to the detriment of the economy of Plymouth that the airport closed.
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« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2018, 10:40:48 »

I guess those survey figures are what you’d expect.  Very few local businesses are going to vote ‘no’ to a local airport staying open.  Who let the London slots go?  Is it a case of the airports operator having a hidden agenda?
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« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2018, 11:16:57 »


Because EasyJet are willing to chuck large amounts of money at their showpiece airport?
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« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2018, 11:35:04 »

Because EasyJet are willing to chuck large amounts of money at their showpiece airport?
Trust me if you've used Luton Airport you know it needs all the money it can throw at it which to be fair is exactly what's happening and things are improving. Having a rail link to the airport is a massive plus for them.
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