France gets go ahead to ban short haul domestic flights

[Alex321]

While you could certainly fly from London to Birmingham in the past (and to East Midlands, which is a comparable distance), those routes haven't been served for many years.

Almost all UK domestic air traffic, as alluded to above, is either to/from Scotland or involves over-water flights, and so is outside the scope of short rail journeys.

Oops. I hadn't looked at the detail, just looked at the aggregator sites quickly. You are right, all the BHX to London flights include a change, somewhere miles away like Dublin or Schipol.

But there are direct flights from Manchester to London, by British Airways, which is still (just) under the 2.5 hour train time limit set for the French ban.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Oops. I hadn't looked at the detail, just looked at the aggregator sites quickly. You are right, all the BHX to London flights include a change, somewhere miles away like Dublin or Schipol.

But there are direct flights from Manchester to London, by British Airways, which is still (just) under the 2.5 hour train time limit set for the French ban.

Also as France has TGV high speed lines, you can get further by rail between many locations.

With this and the clear advantage that a trian takes you from cenntre to centre, no check in et c, it could really help rail compete.

 

[presta]

Manchester, which is about 2¼ hours by train from London, so about as far as you're likely to get in the UK within the stated time period

London to Paris is 2h16m.....

 

[Brandane]

London to Paris is 2h16m.....

Not "domestic".......

 

[DaveReading]

But there are direct flights from Manchester to London, by British Airways, which is still (just) under the 2.5 hour train time limit set for the French ban.

Yes, there are indeed. I've used them on a few occasions in the distant past.

According to a House of Commons analysis last year, around 6% of UK domestic traffic is between points in mainland England.

 

[postman]

When HS2 is finished it'll be a 3 hour train journey....

And never be good value,for what sosomeone can sit in a concourse high street pub,with half an hour to spend on an extra pint.Countryside and people's lives homes ruined for thirty to forty five minutes gained.

 

[Jameshow]

There was a stopping service from Newquay, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, Aberdeen not sure it still runs!

 

[Brandane]

There was a stopping service from Newquay, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, Aberdeen not sure it still runs!

The appropriately named Cross Country Trains have a direct service which runs on a Saturday, leaving Aberdeen at 0820. Thirty six stops later it arrives in Penzance at 2140!
Via Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Truro, and several stations in between.

 

[DaveReading]

There was a stopping service from Newquay, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, Aberdeen not sure it still runs!

The best known of those "bus stop" services was Channel Airways' short-lived "Scottish Flyer" in the late '60s, which flew Aberdeen-Edinburgh-Newcastle-Teesside-Leeds/Bradford-East Midlands-Luton-Southend and v.v.

Dan-Air tried something similar in the early '80s, between Newcastle and Bournemouth with three intermediate stops, equally unsuccessfully.

 

[Andy in Germany]

And never be good value,for what sosomeone can sit in a concourse high street pub,with half an hour to spend on an extra pint.Countryside and people's lives homes ruined for thirty to forty five minutes gained.

I'm ambivalent as well, but one argument for the high speed line in the Rhine valley here is that the new line will free up capacity for freight and local services which we badly need.