Rail boss predicts death of domestic air travel
18.09.10
Domestic air travel could become ‘the choice of the minority’ with some cities not being linked by air at all, the chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has said. ATOC director of corporate affairs Edward Welsh made the remarks as his organisation released new figures indicating people travelling from city to city in the UK are becoming more likely to take the train instead of flying.
ATOC says the economic climate has resulted in an 18-month boost in intercity rail travel as people take up offers on cheap rail tickets. The figures show that:
- from Birmingham to Edinburgh, market share has gone up from 14% in 2008 to 31% in June this year
- from London to Manchester, market share has gone up from 69% in 2008 to 85% in June this year
- from Birmingham to Glasgow, market share has gone up from 15% in 2008 to 27% in 2010 this year
- from London to Glasgow, market share has gone up from 12% in 2008 to 21% in June this year.
The figures show that between 2006 and 2009, total journeys by rail on the ten most popular domestic air routes went up by 31% while those using air travel dropped by 20%. Mr Welsh said: ‘If these trends continue, we can expect domestic air to become the choice of the minority, with flying between some cities disappearing altogether.’
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