NEW HEATHROW HUB

[whole diary]

[Electric train]

David Cameron has warned firms not to invest in building a third runway at Heathrow, as his party will scrap the plan if it wins power (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7832693.stm

An interesting further quote from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) article:

Some protesters smashed doors at the Department for Transport after the decision was made

That's a brave statement by him, as it's exactly those same firms his party will be trying to court favour with to fund his parties campaign at the next general election.

This whole saga of the extra capacity at our airports and the high speed rail route(s) and route electrification of our existing network shows the endemic inability of our government (both politicians and civil servants) to plan a cohesive transport system its all done on knee jerk and political gain and never in the National interest. 

[Btline]

Birmingham airport is excellent!

The only European airport I have been to where your bags are returned quicker is Berlin Tegal.

It is pleasant, calm and VERY efficient.

It really makes you proud to be British when you step off the plane (as you compare your smooth experience with the chaos at the European airport you were flying from).

[devon_metro]

Birmingham airport is excellent!

The only European airport I have been to where your bags are returned quicker is Berlin Tegal.

It is pleasant, calm and VERY efficient.

It really makes you proud to be British when you step off the plane (as you compare your smooth experience with the chaos at the European airport you were flying from).

Are you talking about a different Birmingham in the world then, those descriptions sound nothing like it 

[Btline]

I have never had to wait for bags to be returned.

I have never been delayed.

The ambiance is nicer than most airports.

[devon_metro]

I was talking about birmingham in general

[Btline]

Oh, I hate B'ham!

It really makes me ashamed to be Britsh when I step out of the train at New Street.....

[willc]

It really makes you proud to be British when you step off the plane (as you compare your smooth experience with the chaos at the European airport you were flying from).

The problem is most overseas visitors' experience of our airports is Heathrow, a place that is unlikely to make anyone feel proud to be British - however many runways and terminals it ends up with.

And I suspect you've never been to Oslo Gardermoen, built from scratch a decade ago, well away from the city, with a high-speed rail link and also served by trains on the main line to central and northern Norway, it still looks as good as the day it opened and is a model of efficiency. How airports should be - because it's not run by a shopping centre operator like BAA.

[stebbo]

Try Bristol airport. Even with bags to reclaim, never taken me more than half an hour to get from plane to car.

[bemmy]

More and more people are waking up to the fact that flying is rubbish. You have a long and awkward journey to the airport, you struggle to stay within the luggage allowance, you wait around for hours, then the hassle of security checks, then you're cramped into a tiny area, and the food is poor, and when you arrive you've got loads more waiting around to do and then have a third journey to reach your destination. Yeah it's exciting the first few times but once the novelty has worn off and the cheap flights are gone.... most people would rather drive or take a train.

But it's been like that for years and hasn't put people off flying, because even with all the hassle involved, it's still quicker to most of Europe, except for Paris and Brussels, or there's no other way to get there - and it's not just long-haul that this is the case. I lived in Norway for a while and not once was a flight I took between Oslo and London on time (worst delays were both two hours - as long as the flight itself takes) but what's the alternative? You can't even go by sea any more, as the Newcastle-Stavanger ferry route closed at the end of August.

I agree that presently there is no alternative to flying for almost all journeys to and from the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), but my point is that as alternatives increase (for the other reasons I stated), flying will decline, as it has done on many core routes in Europe, eg Paris to Brussels, Madrid to Barcelona etc. The advantages to flying are the cheaper fares and the faster journey time; given a level playing field on fuel taxes and a high speed line, these advantages disappear on short haul routes. I think this will come in the long term..... our present government's policy is based entirely on supporting BAA's business plan but that will not always be the case.

[devon_metro]

Try Bristol airport. Even with bags to reclaim, never taken me more than half an hour to get from plane to car.

Agreed, Bristol is a fantastic airport! Puts any BAA airport to shame.

[stebbo]

Only disadvantage of Bristol airport is that there's no way it could have a rail link - of course, if Filton were redeveloped with Bristol Parkway right next door....

[Btline]

Coventry airport was also very good before it was axed.

[devon_metro]

Coventry airport was also very good before it was axed.

It was bit pointless with a well connected airport 10 minutes away!

[grahame]

Only disadvantage of Bristol airport is that there's no way it could have a rail link - of course, if Filton were redeveloped with Bristol Parkway right next door....

I like Bristol Airport ... as an airport. But, gosh, I wish it wasn't where it is. As commenter haddynuf said to the Bristol Blogger:

Lulsgate always was going to be a bloody crazy place to build a huge airport. Miles from a rail-link, miles from a motorway junction; no thought given to the local villages and their narrow roads creating congestion.

See:
http://thebristolblogger.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/bb-roadwatch-a-touch-of-class/
I had an email from a delegate who's coming on on of our courses - she's arriving next Sunday and asked me about public transport from the airport. Now it's only about 30 miles, so it shouldn't be too hard. And Sunday afternoon is one of the busiest times of the week for people travelling a long distance, so there should be plenty of services.

a) Catch the bus to Bristol Temple Meads Station
b) Catch the train to Bath Spa
c) Catch the bus (route 272) to Melksham

The last leg only runs every 2 hours on a Sunday ... and it expires at 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday (it runs later on other evenings, of course!).

There are other alternatives ... if you just happen to catch the train from Bristol at 18:00, you can change into another train at CHIPPEHNAM to get you to Melksham ... and if you catch the 16:10 or 18:50 train you can change at TROWBRIDGE into the Melksham train.

The problem with all of this?  Even with the best laid plans, the flight may be half an hour late ...

I DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains) hear someone advocating (at a rail meeting) light rail or tramway to Bristol (Lulsgate) airport - a branch off the Bristol - Weston line (I suppose) somewhere near Nailsea, but then I see other documents from web searches that tell me that it's impractical to link it directly to the rail network.

Advise for my delegate?  "Let me know when you'll be arriving and we'll get a taxi to collect you" - I'm frankly embarrassed at the complexity of such a short journey from what is supposed to be our regional airport.

[John R]

I think the gradient up from the main line at Yatton would be much too steep.  The airport is quite high up compared with the rail-line.