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Heathrow runway - will it ever happen?

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    #41
    Originally posted by WTFH View Post
    The one thing Gatwick has that Heathrow hasn't is a train station. Gatwick doesn't have good infrastructure or transportation links apart from the train (when it runs). It would make more geographic sense to expand Luton which opens up the Midlands on the M1 and West Coast mainline.
    Heathrow doesn't have a train station. It has several. 2 tube stations, Heathrow Express, it's going to have Crossrail, and there are several stations nearby with fast bus links (e.g. Feltham, Hatton Cross).
    Gatwick does have a station, but you have to go by Southern, and they're usually on strike.
    Luton is nowhere near the WCML. It does have a Thameslink station, but it's miles away and the bus (and by bus, I mean the one and only bloody bus) is crap if you have any sort of luggage.
    His heart is in the right place - shame we can't say the same about his brain...

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      #42
      Originally posted by Mordac View Post
      Heathrow doesn't have a train station. It has several. 2 tube stations, Heathrow Express, it's going to have Crossrail, and there are several stations nearby with fast bus links (e.g. Feltham, Hatton Cross).
      Gatwick does have a station, but you have to go by Southern, and they're usually on strike.
      Luton is nowhere near the WCML. It does have a Thameslink station, but it's miles away and the bus (and by bus, I mean the one and only bloody bus) is crap if you have any sort of luggage.
      Gatwick also has Gatwick Express and IIRC other Thameslink services.

      And if your desired transport plans include a bus from Luton Airport, YACNCOTBAC.

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        #43
        Originally posted by Old Greg View Post
        Gatwick also has Gatwick Express and IIRC other Thameslink services.

        And if your desired transport plans include a bus from Luton Airport, YACNCOTBAC.
        I believe all routes into Gatwick are operated by a single TOC. A delay on one of the services usually means delays to other services as well. Though Gatwick Express might be an exception since it runs from separate platforms than southern and thameslink, though I could be mistaken

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          #44
          Originally posted by Mordac View Post
          Heathrow doesn't have a train station. It has several. 2 tube stations, Heathrow Express, it's going to have Crossrail, and there are several stations nearby with fast bus links (e.g. Feltham, Hatton Cross).
          Isn't "fast bus" an oxymoron?

          Birmingham does have a train station and not one that's on a spur, and when I flew into Southampton last year I was able to walk out the airport and straight onto a train to Oxford. Of course the train cost more than the flight...

          Even though Heathrow is probably closer I could get to BHX or Southampton quicker and easier by train.
          Will work inside IR35. Or for food.

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            #45
            Originally posted by Mordac View Post
            Because you'd have to build a city the size of Birmingham next to it. That would roughly equate to the footprint of LHR.
            Why would you need a city the size of Birmingham? How did Hong Kong build an island airport without Birmingham next door? Instead they built a high speed line in to the city.

            A good portion of the money for extending will now go into temporary arrangements, M25 works, etc to allow real construction work to take place. Would have been far better to build from scratch without having to worry about a working airport.
            "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

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              #46
              Originally posted by Old Greg View Post
              Gatwick also has Gatwick Express and IIRC other Thameslink services.

              And if your desired transport plans include a bus from Luton Airport, YACNCOTBAC.
              Gatwick Express only runs from Victoria, which is OK to get to if you only have hand luggage, but have you ever tried getting a suitcase on the tube? Ditto Thameslink via Blackfriars.

              Btw, "YACNCOTBAC" translation please?
              His heart is in the right place - shame we can't say the same about his brain...

              Comment


                #47
                Originally posted by scooterscot View Post
                Why would you need a city the size of Birmingham? How did Hong Kong build an island airport without Birmingham next door? Instead they built a high speed line in to the city.

                A good portion of the money for extending will now go into temporary arrangements, M25 works, etc to allow real construction work to take place. Would have been far better to build from scratch without having to worry about a working airport.
                You are forgetting the fact that LHR is not just about passengers. About 50K work there, and some of the estates nearby are equivalent to small towns on their own. BA Waterside alone is huge. Most of the Hayes, Feltham, Ashford and Hounslow industrial estates are populated by freight and logistics companies. Half of Slough is reliant on LHR for the same reason. It's also no coincidence that so many tech companies are located around the M3 / M4 corridor. Stockley Park was only built because of its proximity to LHR. Then there are all the suppliers (catering, engineering etc.)
                So take that 50k, multiply it by about 10, add in their families, and then add in the people that would be needed to support that number (schools, hospitals, retail outlets, various other public services - you add whatever you think I've missed) and their families, and we're up at around 1.5 million. Even at the most optimistic guess, that around 100k daily will use Crossrail or whatever the high speed rail equivalent may be to travel to work or travel as passengers between London and the new "Island" airport, the freight traffic alone will kill the M25 stone dead.
                As I tried to explain earlier, the "footprint" of LHR is about the same size as Birmingham, like it or not. Freight alone is worth around £150bn a year.
                Comparing that to HK building a new airport about 20m away from the old one is like comparing apples and oranges. I'll bet you 10p they don't have low emission zones and traffic restrictions on large freight vehicles.
                I'm sure you'll want to compare LHR to the newish (and very nice) airport in Munich, but with all due respect, Munich isn't the south east of England, and Hong Kong isn't either.
                His heart is in the right place - shame we can't say the same about his brain...

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                  #48
                  Originally posted by Mordac View Post
                  We've settled the argument about LGW. It's a royal pain in the arse to get to. 1 road (M23 - usually fecked) and 1 train line (usually on strike). Build a second runway there by all means, but only in addition to LHR3.
                  It is a pain in the ass for you to get to not me.

                  The Unions are trying to get rid of Southern.
                  "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

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                    #49
                    Originally posted by barrydidit View Post
                    Dunno. Will it be built on top of SasGuru? Only then will I start giving a fluck.
                    FTFY
                    "He's actually ripped" - Jared Padalecki

                    https://youtu.be/l-PUnsCL590?list=PL...dNeCyi9a&t=615

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                      #50
                      Originally posted by SueEllen View Post
                      It is a pain in the ass for you to get to not me.
                      True. 25 mins for me by car. Closer to an hour to LHR.
                      …Maybe we ain’t that young anymore

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