MANCHESTER - 5

[SOTV]

On a different track the Virgin West Coast effect seems to be bottoming out as the provisional totals give a drop of a couple of thousands rather than the tens of thousands over recent months.

Can I give a comment on this? As a train driver, although not for VWC, the prices charged for peak hours arrival at Euston are prohibitive for the majority of travellers. First class has less personal space than the normal business class on short haul flights. The 'free' food is of a standard lower than an economy charter flight. With the continuing upgrade of the Trent Valley lines there are often long stretches of track subject to speed restrictions, these lead to longer delays when approaching the bottlenecks near Euston.

If you are not responsible for paying for your journey then a flight to LHR or even STN with its good rail links would make sense. Given there could be available slots at Manchester do you think a dedicated business class flight to either would prove popular? I was thinking of the one class concept. Surely they could undercut VWC and provide complimentary onward transport by rail.

The Virgin first class return fare is £377. To arrive in Euston before 0900 the latest departure would be 0602.

Even a LoCo carrier must fall over at the prospect of an aircraft full of punters at £200 return.

Maybe I'm just being naive.