UK AirRail 2015 | Interesting viewpoint from Southend that too many rail passengers would harm car park revenue at Southend. Might explain why the Stobart coach service for early and late departures never happened.
London Southend Airport
Glyn Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Southend Airport took a contrary view on the need for a national policy presenting the station scheme at Southend Airport as an example of on how the airport had funded and delivered with no public sector funding as it considered rail access so integral to the new airports business. They note that research has shown that demand can be suppressed by up to 80% if rail passengers are required to change to reach the airport which led to the station being constructed immediately opposite the terminal. This location is considered a key reason for the high rail mode share of 33%, increasing by up to 2% per year.
Jones added a note of caution that smaller regional airports rely on car parking revenue to sustain their operations so they would find it difficult to encourage significant mode shift in the current market.
Lastly, Jones was keen to note that having constructed the station, the airport had management and oversight of the entire passenger environment between aeroplane and train, allowing the airport to oversee and provide high quality customer service throughout the campus – Transporting Cities had a rather different experience.