European Railroad Discussion > Rail & airlines fight it out in the UK...

http://metro.co.uk/2014/10/28/sneaky-promotional-staff-from-flybe-airline-spark-turf-war-with-first-great-western-4924854/

I found the "file" photograph [ of a FGW dmu underneath a signal gantry ] fascinating: those large numbers signifying the track to which each signal applies are a direct result of the Ladbroke Grove accident; indeed, is this "the" signal gantry involved ? You have to wonder if the airline picked the photo !

SZ

I will be on that route (by train) on Sunday. I think it's about a two hour trip from Paddington. So I'm not sure how flying would be any faster by the time you get out to the airport, do the security thing (which seems to take longer in the U.K. than countries in Europe) and then get back to the city center. As for comfort, anyone who has traveled second class on English trains knows there isn't much of an advantage over flying there! But overall, train fares in the U.K. seem to be much higher than we are used to in this country or other parts of Europe. It was actually cheaper for me to buy a first class Britrail pass good for three days than to buy the two individual tickets required (round trip from Heathrow to Paignton for a two day photo charter) and the least expensive of those would only be good on specific departures. Not practical if the flight over is delayed.

The "west" of England never had very good connections to anywhere by air. The closure of Plymouth airport severed the final link. The new service goes to London City airport which is in East London. It's primarily a business oriented airport with very short checkin times. If you start from Canary Wharf (the new financial district in East London) you can be at London City in minutes; I'd hazard a guess that from an office to being sat on the plane is no more than 40 minutes. Very different to Heathrow (for example) which is at least an hour (probably more) from the same office and requires you to be at the entrance to security 37 minutes before departure (Terminal 5). Paddington is arguably 15 minutes (Heathrow Express travel time) nearer Canary Wharf.

So, it depends (as usual) what you compare. In certain circumstances it's going to be a good deal.