Originally Posted by
Geordie405
Part of the issue with the last franchise owner was that their financial model was apparently based around significant penalty payments from Network Rail for infrastructure failings. As NR improved the reliability of the infrastructure on the EC these payments diminished - and the model fell apart.
In terms of NCL - LHR flights, I only take them if I am flying elsewhere. With my employer based in the City it makes very little sense to fly to LHR either from BRU or from NCL. Eurostar and / or East Coast is the way forward for me when I have to work in London.
Journey time NCL-LHR and NCL-KGX is about the same for me. If all was equal I'd take the train (in first class, which is a fair comparison as I'd always use Club Europe for a journey of that duration) but the BA lounges make up for the extra hassle involved in flying.
Longer journeys like Glasgow and Edinburgh the plane wins on time, so the on-board amenities on the train is what'd need to win me over (I use the train a lot less on the Anglo-Scottish routes since restaurant was abolished).
For Leeds: city centre - city centre there's no speed advantage to flying so you have to really like flying or live somewhere convenient of the airport. Same with Manchester but when I'm flying to MAN I'm not usually going to Manchester but driving south.