So, can the train beat the plane? (BBC News)
 

Rail companies are claiming they can take travellers to central London as quickly as aeroplanes.

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Good video on here well worth watching.

I wonder what the difference was in the cost of the two journeys.

I've just had a quick look at prices

By Air/ rail Edinburgh to Luton £80 then Rail from Luton Airport to Euston £10.90 so total of £90.90

By Rail all the way Edinburgh to Euston £40.50

Sooo half price by rail without any changes and NO silly check in

Seth

Shame they didn't mention that in their report.

What sort of tickets were they??

I got prices of both leaving Edinburgh at 8.00a.m.

Seth

So the time by air was much and such the same as the train from Edinburgh.

Ok try now to do it from Inverness or Aberdeen or even further north. To get to Edinburgh from Inverness takes about 3hrs 30mins and from Aberdeen about 2hrs 40mins.I think the plane would win hands down.
Check in at inv or Aberdeen airport maybe 1.5 hrs later on your aircraft in London 1.5 hrs later pick up your bags 30mins and train to central metropolis another 30 mins total on a good day 4hrs, the train would'nt even be at Berwick:(

But of coarse if the Govt had their way,(be it Thatchers Tory or Blair/Browns Labour), Scotland would be desolate from Edin/Glas north

Les

Thats unfair on the current government. If they really wanted to close the railways down I'm sure they'd have done it. Its easy to forget that it wasn't them that privatised the network, and you can't blame them for not wanting to re-nationalise it seeing as the cost would be astronomical.

I dont think you are far wrong on that last point Dynamo.
The damage has been done big time in my opinion, though I have friends who work for the railway who think it is better now than it has ever been.
So who am I to disagree. Secretly I think it is not as good. Perhaps I am looking at it with a different hat on to them.
Paul.

Well as you know, I also work for the railway and I also think it is better now than it was when it was government owned.

The most important thing that happened under privatisation was a shed load of dead wood was cleared out. I remember having a saftey brief at Doncaster just after Ed took charge of EWS and for lunch we all went to a cafe in the works called The Mallard. I was in the queue with a driver from Worksop and he got talking to a few guys he knew who were bosses. He asked them how things were and they all replied in unison "I'm out of a job." Now, while part of me thinks its always horrible when someone loses their job, I just got the impression that these guys all had very well paid jobs but were probably doing bugger all to actually earn any of the wage they recieved, so therefore the railway would be much better off when these guys were sent packing, and to me, I think that points been vindicated.

The added competition from the likes of Frieghtliner HH and GBRf has cut down how successful EWS could have become, but at the same time its made them tighten their belts even harder and for me is still doing quite nicely. I also believe that once DB get to grips with the company they'll be even better.

I'd also add that the extra tight safety regime thats in place has helped to cut down the costs by a shed load cos there's nowhere near as many collisions and derailments as there used to be.

Its still not a complete bed of roses by a long chalk, and it probably never will be, but the bottom line is that people on the railway now have to "earn" their money, whereas in years gone by there was always the queens silver shilling to bale them out.