Not a lot in it then.

I note the climate change campaigner making the expected comment about flying less with more flights making it difficult for people to make the 'sustainable choice'. By that I presume she means rail. But are diesel trains more 'sustainable' than air? The Cross Country Birmingham-Edinburgh route (the second route quoted in the article) is certainly diesel if they use the trains that begin in the South West, which I believe is the case on at least some of the journeys.
 
Not a lot in it then.

I note the climate change campaigner making the expected comment about flying less with more flights making it difficult for people to make the 'sustainable choice'. By that I presume she means rail. But are diesel trains more 'sustainable' than air? The Cross Country Birmingham-Edinburgh route (the second route quoted in the article) is certainly diesel if they use the trains that begin in the South West, which I believe is the case on at least some of the journeys.
It is always irritating to see (and use) many of Virgin trains that go from London via Birmingham to Scotland being diesel powered despite the entire route being electrified, I understand this is due to a shortage of electric trains and I think is being addressed at some point in the next franchise.
Equally you can see similar with the Crosscountry Birmingham to Manchester trains (although some of these start further south so unfortunately have to be diesel) - off topic: would be great in my opinion to have a more "local" service going to Manchester that was electric from the West Midlands.
 
,......and I just interrupted Star Trek for Midlands Today hoping for a mention of the new Edinburgh service, typically omitted as a non story

BHX have a press release on their website so hopefully it will be picked up tomorrow.

 
It is always irritating to see (and use) many of Virgin trains that go from London via Birmingham to Scotland being diesel powered despite the entire route being electrified, I understand this is due to a shortage of electric trains and I think is being addressed at some point in the next franchise.
Equally you can see similar with the Crosscountry Birmingham to Manchester trains (although some of these start further south so unfortunately have to be diesel) - off topic: would be great in my opinion to have a more "local" service going to Manchester that was electric from the West Midlands.
It's equally irritating for the government region of the South West (England's largest government region by area) having to rely entirely on diesel traction (apart from the section between Swindon and Severn Tunnel on the Paddington-Cardiff line) with no plans to electrify in the foreseeable future.

Aviation still accounts for only around 2% of greenhouse gas emissions yet it's a ready target as it's seen as either the transport of the wealthy or the transport of the those going on holiday, both of which are patently absurd claims.

easyJet on BHX-EDI will be almost undetectable when it comes to greenhouse gases compared with China's plans to build 200 new airports in the next fifteen years and India's to build 100.
 
It's equally irritating for the government region of the South West (England's largest government region by area) having to rely entirely on diesel traction (apart from the section between Swindon and Severn Tunnel on the Paddington-Cardiff line) with no plans to electrify in the foreseeable future.
Agree totally, it is shameful how little of our rail network is electrified.

Aviation still accounts for only around 2% of greenhouse gas emissions yet it's a ready target as it's seen as either the transport of the wealthy or the transport of the those going on holiday, both of which are patently absurd claims.

easyJet on BHX-EDI will be almost undetectable when it comes to greenhouse gases compared with China's plans to build 200 new airports in the next fifteen years and India's to build 100.
Not to mention the new Istanbul airport! ;)
 
Re Simon Calder: I think we should take what he writes with a pinch of salt. Firstly, looking at his biography i don't believe we can remotely call him a travel EXPERT, a travel WRITER is the best adjective i can find. Remember, like all journalists, he is not paid within the framework of what we call the 'national press' to be objective, he is paid to be subjective and that means the more he can say things that are critical the better.

I don't think i have ever seen him write anything positive about Birmingham; indeed there have been many occasions when he could have included Birmingham in his positive critiques but chose not to do so.

What he says is largely irrelevant. The future of Birmingham; its airport, the city and the Midlands in general will be determined by those with an expert knowledge of the subject and the region.

Now, lets down to welcoming more routes from Easyjet and possibly other routes as well. That's what really matters......
 
Re Simon Calder: I think we should take what he writes with a pinch of salt. Firstly, looking at his biography i don't believe we can remotely call him a travel EXPERT, a travel WRITER is the best adjective i can find. Remember, like all journalists, he is not paid within the framework of what we call the 'national press' to be objective, he is paid to be subjective and that means the more he can say things that are critical the better.

I don't think i have ever seen him write anything positive about Birmingham; indeed there have been many occasions when he could have included Birmingham in his positive critiques but chose not to do so.

What he says is largely irrelevant. The future of Birmingham; its airport, the city and the Midlands in general will be determined by those with an expert knowledge of the subject and the region.

Now, lets down to welcoming more routes from Easyjet and possibly other routes as well. That's what really matters......

I happened to be on the first ever MyTravel Lite flight to BVA and he was on it, he is very biased towards the South East
 
Re Simon Calder: I think we should take what he writes with a pinch of salt. Firstly, looking at his biography i don't believe we can remotely call him a travel EXPERT, a travel WRITER is the best adjective i can find. Remember, like all journalists, he is not paid within the framework of what we call the 'national press' to be objective, he is paid to be subjective and that means the more he can say things that are critical the better.

I don't think i have ever seen him write anything positive about Birmingham; indeed there have been many occasions when he could have included Birmingham in his positive critiques but chose not to do so.

What he says is largely irrelevant. The future of Birmingham; its airport, the city and the Midlands in general will be determined by those with an expert knowledge of the subject and the region.

Now, lets down to welcoming more routes from Easyjet and possibly other routes as well. That's what really matters......
From his tweet I think the gist of what he is saying is that considering everything is more about the environment should Easyjet be launching short domestic routes like this when the more environmentally friendly train is available and the route is already operated by Flybe.
 
My cousin has just moved from Kolkata to Dundee University today for her Masters Degree. I these routes to Glasgow and Edinburgh from Birmingham come at great timing I know they start in March and I’ll have to use FlyBe for now can’t wait to try the new flights
 
Where his argument really falls down is that the train time to Edinburgh is the same whether you travel from Birmingham or London. So is he saying there should be no flights from London to Edinburgh too?
 

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survived a redundancy scenario where I work for the 3rd time. Now it looks likely I will get to cover work for 2 other teams.. Pretty please for a payrise? That would be a no and so stay on the min wage.
Live in Market Bosworth and take each day as it comes......
Well it looks like I'm off to Australia and New Zealand next year! Booked with BA from Manchester via Heathrow with a stop in Singapore and returning with Air New Zealand and BA via LAX to Heathrow. Will circumnavigate the globe and be my first trans-Pacific flight. First long haul flight with BA as well and of course Air NZ.
15 years at the same company was reached the weekend before last. Not sure how they will mark the occasion apart from the compulsory payirse to minimum wage (1st rise for 2 years; i was 15% above it back then!)
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Welcome to the forum, I was born and bred in Southampton.

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