Aviators against trains

Carriers and lobbyists criticize the intention of the British government to replace the near -hydraulic flights by trains

British air carriers are opposed to the government plan to gradually replace internal and close -range transportation by air for transportation along a high -speed railway. CEO Ryanair, the largest air carrier in Europe, carrying out flights to close distances, Michael O'Liri called such a crazy policy. And in the International Association of Air Transport ( IATA ) indicate the astronomical cost of the project and adverse environmental consequences.

According to the Minister of Transport of Great Britain, Lord Andrew Adonis, The Guardian, the government hopes to gradually replace the near -hydraulic flight flights for transportation on the railway network created in the country, where trains will go at a speed of 400 km/ h.

The airline reaction followed immediately. So, the head of Ryanair warned that railway transportation should not be turned through Lamansch into the main method of communication between Great Britain and Continental Europe.

"This is madness to bet on the only way to communicate in the form of one extremely expensive tunnel," said Michael O'LIRI.

British Airways also skeptically reacted to the words of Lord Adonis. The company supports the plan of the Ministry of Transport for the construction of a high -speed highway through Khitrov Airport and its further extension to the regions of Great Britain, but notes that it would be impractical to abandon air transportation to the most remote destination of near -hydraulist flights, such as Madrid, Rome or Prague.

“The high -speed railway cannot completely replace flights,” the company noted. “In continental Europe there is only a small number of destination points where it would be practical to get by rail and return back during the day. Therefore, millions of travelers will always give preference to air transport.”

The Flying Matters lobbying group, which specializes in the promotion of aviation interests, warned that on some routes around the country it would still have to have internal flights that would end in hubs like the airport in Khitrovo, because it is impossible to lay a high -speed railway to these cities.

“There will be real problems along some routes,” says Michel Di Leo, director of Flying Matters. “For example, how will you get from Edinburgh to Belfast by train in a reasonable time? You cannot force people to use options that do not even exist today.”

IATA is sure that the country, which took several decades to plan the construction of the railway at Khitrov Airport, can spend even more time to implement the plan for the construction of a network of high -speed railways.

"When it takes decades to build 3 km of the railway, the task of building the infrastructure of high -speed railways, taking into account the uneven terrain, may simply be overwhelming," said Iata The Guardian.

In addition, IATA experts pay attention to a report prepared by scientists of the University of California in Berkeley. It states that if you take into account all construction and repair work, the level of CO2 emissions that accompany the functioning of the entire railway infrastructure will be higher than it is commonly believed.

“Even if you close your eyes to the astronomical cost and the time frame for the implementation of such a project, did Mr. Minister think about the influence that the construction of such a volume of railway infrastructure can have on the environment?” - the representative of IATA is indignant.

Prices for distillations

Competition of air carriers and railway is also manifested in Russia. Back in 2006, the Gorky Railway (GZD) accused the Siberia Airline of violation of the law "On Advertising". The carrier operated on the route Nizhny Novgorod - Moscow and conducted an advertising campaign with the slogan "Flying at the prices of the railway!". In the State Heads, it was considered that advertising contained inaccurate information regarding the cost of tickets. But the FAS did not find the FAS on the results of the verification of violations of the law "On Advertising", thereby recognizing the slogan of Siberia reliable. The first Russian Lowcost Carrier SkyExpress regularly conducts tickets for ticket sales using the slogans "Tariffs below the train", "Flights at the price of railway tickets" or "The train left? Flapped!". The cost of tariffs for some areas of the airline starts at 500 rubles.