Passengers abandon northern flights for trains

A new age of the train has dawned on one of Britain’s key transport battlegrounds, according to figures showing that the recently modernised west coast mainline is causing huge damage to airlines flying between London and Manchester.

BMI, British Airways, Eastern Airways and VLM have all seen their passenger numbers slump on the lucrative artery since a
Since September 2004, Virgin Trains’ tilting Pendolinos have been able to cover the 184 miles in two hours six minutes, at an average speed of 88mph.

In the 13 months since the change, Virgin’s market share has surged from 40% to 60%, a remarkable revival which will go some way towards vindicating the government’s decision to pump public funds into the long-running and troublesome upgrade of the railway line.

The Guardian