Originally Posted by
Mr A Tis
Not sure it is that good. Lots of complaints over the summer of people having to stand all the way to/from Scotland due lack of rolling stock, trains curtailed due lack of drivers etc. Constant promises of new trains and additional carriages. If you take Trip Advisor the ratings for TPE are : Excellent 38, Very Good 33, Average 37, Poor 38 & Terrible 168. Maybe they are improving? -
I think the jury is out on whether the train is better than the plane.
I know this is now verging into Off-Topic, but TPE's new trains for the Manchester/Liverpool to Scotland via the West Coast Mainline are finally in the testing/training phase and should be introduced before Christmas. While I find the current trains quite pleasant, they are short and often crowded and the door at 1/3 and 2/3 means in the winter station stops get a bit draughty. But with TPE, Virgin and the car all being viable alternatives from quite a few stations (soon including Liverpool) it becomes less hassle to take the train versus flying.
This, I think, would take care of most of the O&D stuff. As for connections, Glasgow appears to have a fairly mixed picture with routes coming and going but a solid long haul service from Emirates along with KLM and BA. Maybe connection demand isn't there, especially when there are better alternatives to connecting in Manchester which as a connection experience leaves quite a bit to be desired.
Willingness to ditch a route is probably a good sign, given the situation they're in. If the O&D is there, I'm sure Loganair will mop it up.