Roland Perry said:

the walk to the gate involved a trip upstairs and
back down again - what was that all about?

IIRC there are some gates like that at Gatwick too. It's not just a
Luton problem.

"Tony Polson" wrote in message
...
"D7666" wrote:

Poor Luton. Already a deeply unattractive town, these developments
can only serve to make it an even worse place to live and/or work.

Wont affect luton much as the airport is south of the town and planes take
off/land east west. Never know it might prompt someone to pay for fitting
out St Pan Midland Rd Though.

"paul" wrote:

Wont affect luton much as the airport is south of the town and planes take
off/land east west.


So the airport extensions and resulting vast increase in passengers
handled won't lead to any increase in traffic in the town Luton?

I wonder how you worked that out.

The Times this morning reports that Luton Airport is to build a new
runway in time for 2012 Olympics together with a new terminal and
monorail connection to Luton Airport Parkway.The City of London has
issued a report indicating that rail links will become increasingly
congested as a result on increasing employment in London and call for a
"step change in the level of investment".
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...843035,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...843483,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...843849,00.html

Why not, rather than expand the airport, and create more noise and far
more pollution, build a high-speed domestic rail link and ban all
domestic flights to destinations served by said rail link?

Joe Patrick wrote:


Why not, rather than expand the airport, and create more noise and far
more pollution, build a high-speed domestic rail link and ban all
domestic flights to destinations served by said rail link?


I've long held the view that the WCML PUG and LHR rail link and CTRL
and channel tunnel should have allowed for high speed inter-airport
node trains, connecting in the UK Manchester, Birmingham, LHR, LGW,
Paris CGD, AMS Shiphol and possibly Frankfurt Main. Some trains would
be exclusive airlines paths conveying transit passengers and checked
baggages , others stopping at certain principal stations for passengers
for journeys into town/s. Reduces airport expansions needs by freeing
slots.


--
Nick

Joe Patrick wrote:
The Times this morning reports that Luton Airport is to build a new
runway in time for 2012 Olympics together with a new terminal and
monorail connection to Luton Airport Parkway.The City of London has
issued a report indicating that rail links will become increasingly
congested as a result on increasing employment in London and call for a
"step change in the level of investment".
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...843035,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...843483,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...843849,00.html

Why not, rather than expand the airport, and create more noise and far
more pollution, build a high-speed domestic rail link and ban all
domestic flights to destinations served by said rail link?

No need to ban the domestic flights; even with the under-taxing of air
travel, new TGV routes have decimated air competition in those corridors
- e.g. Paris-Brussels. With a proper tax on plane fuel, a well-designed
UK high-speed line would virtually eliminate significant volumes of
domestic air travel. If it were connected to Heathrow, Manchester and
Edinburgh airports (or other combinations thereof), it would also
virtually eliminate the need for connecting local flights for
international passengers.


--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

Tony Polson wrote:

"paul" wrote:

Wont affect luton much as the airport is south of the town and planes take
off/land east west.

And Paul, do you live to the south of Luton town centre ?

I posted I personally do not notice noise much from where I am but
thats a freak of geography due to a hill acting as a noise barrier.

There are many who will be affected, not only in Luton but in Hitchin /
Welwyn / Hemel Hempstead who are right under the flight paths.

And never mind the road traffic.

And possible motorway link - there is a proposal somewhere about a new
direct A1 / M1 link as well as a different idea from M1 north of Luton
in a loop around the east of the town also to the airport.


So the airport extensions and resulting vast increase in passengers
handled won't lead to any increase in traffic in the town Luton?

I wonder how you worked that out.

Don't know Tony.

I'm not against traffic expansion, nor against Luton airport expansion,
I don't think this scheme is particularly well thought out, and what
will happen is they are trying to rush it through for a short term
commercial need for 2012 for Luton airports current owners only, rahter
than long term strategic needs of the whole of the south east.

--
Nick

"D7666" wrote:

And possible motorway link - there is a proposal somewhere about a new
direct A1 / M1 link as well as a different idea from M1 north of Luton
in a loop around the east of the town also to the airport.


There has long been a proposal for a Felixstowe-Southampton Trunk Road
which would form part of an outer ring around London - in other words,
further out than the M25. It would broadly follow the existing A505
corridor.

I believe the route followed the supposedly abandoned "Ringway 3"
scheme of the 1970s - where "Ringway 2" was the only one of three
proposed London ring roads that actually got built - as the M25.

In the mid 1990s I advised some local residents on several aspects of
the (then-)proposed Aylesbury by-pass. The Department of Transport
(Highways Agency) drawings showing the various possible routes around
Aylesbury were all clearly titled "Felixstowe to Southampton Trunk
Road".

Although no such long distance road scheme had ever been announced to
the public, it was clearly part of Department of Transport planning.

Tony Polson wrote:

which would form part of an outer ring around London - in other words,
further out than the M25. It would broadly follow the existing A505
corridor.

Ahhh is that where it comes from.


I believe the route followed the supposedly abandoned "Ringway 3"

Could well be, I know it is an idea that been in the air (excuse the
pun) as formaing a possible airport link every since I moed to Luton in
1987 (aaarrgghh have I really been here 18 years).

--
Nick

Tony Polson wrote:
There has long been a proposal for a Felixstowe-Southampton Trunk Road
which would form part of an outer ring around London - in other words,
further out than the M25. It would broadly follow the existing A505
corridor.
[...]
Although no such long distance road scheme had ever been announced to
the public, it was clearly part of Department of Transport planning.

Trunk Roads aren't "schemes" as such, just lengths of existing roads
that were taken over by the (then) Ministry of Roads and (the ones
that haven't been detrunked, anyway) now maintained by the HA.

They were originally defined by the Trunk Roads Acts of 1936 and 1946.
For example, Trunk Road 1 is London-Thurso and Trunk Road 8 is
London-Penzance (from the 1936 Act) and the now defunct Trunk Road 41
is Taunton-Barnstaple-Fraddon (in the 1946 Act).

Without access to a copy of the Acts I can't be certain, but I'd guess
the Felixstowe-Southampton Trunk Road was created by the 1946 Act.

I did find a complete list recently (and accidentally!), but I can't
find it now: the closest I've come is on a posting on the SABRE forum
he http://tinyurl.com/bhvqs. It's not complete (or particularly
accurate, for that matter); and the numbering isn't really "secret",
it's just the order they appear in each Act!


Neil Sunderland
--
Braunton, Devon
Please observe the Reply-To address.

NP: Spin Doctors - Dogs On A Doe (from the album 'You've Got To Believe In Something')