VIRGIN TRAINS says it is winning the war with the airlines between London and Manchester. A 29% increase in passenger numbers has followed the introduction of a half-hourly train service last September, with the train journey taking around 2 hours 16 minutes.
The train operator claims corporate clients are switching allegiance to the railway as business travellers take advantage of being able to plug in laptops and mobile ”phones, enabling them to work throughout their journey.
The growth figures, comparing September-January 2004/5 with the corresponding period a year before, are among the highest on the rail network and come despite heavy competition from coach and air operators, as well as the car.
At London City Airport VLM continues with eight flights daily to Manchester, BA and bmi offer 18 between them at LHR and with Jet2 coming on line offering three return flights daily the Gatwick figure is now up to ten.
http://www.virgintrains.co.uk