Sheffield is isolated from the world

[chris@25 10]

By the way, St Pancras is now being connected to Waterloo. So it means it won't take long before it's only 5 hours or less before we (in Sheffield) reaches France.

 

Actually trains will go direct from St Pancras to the channel tunnel via the new high speed line, there'll be no need to go near Waterloo (which will no longer be the Eurostar terminal).

 

http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/about_eurostar/on_the_move.jsp

 

I was at St Pancras last week, they've basically built a new station at the end of the old one.

[Bago 10]

Even better !

It means now I can live in France and work in Sheffield. Since they have better healthcare and all that.

 

I've been to St Pancras a few times. The station is almost ready and complete. It is huge. I just didn't think they were going to make it the main Eurostar terminal.

[jake 10]

Recently, I had to get an early Sunday morning flight from Manchester. These days, Manchester has some good connections to the USA, so I tend to use it. However, I could not get public transport from Sheffield that got me to Manchester on a Sunday before 11:00 am. Trains or buses did not leave Sheffield until well after 9:00 am.

 

The train service from Sheffield to Manchester airport is very good (regular -throughout the night etc) - except on Sunday mornings when it doesnt start running until quite late. So I think its more a specific issue to do with sunday morning services than general transport links issues.

[ohhshurrup 10]

You're right, but that's not my only point. When I have caught the train, I have found it to be slow. Most of the time the train trundles along at low speed. Also, I have to take cases on the train and there isn't enough storage space on the train. Cases are piled around doors and then along comes a rail employee trying to negotiate them with a snacks cart.

 

My main concern is that Sheffield is a commercial backwater and is suffering because of poor links to the outside world. As someone pointed out in this thread, Leeds is becoming a financial centre. Manchester has beome an international city, because of its airport. Sheffielders often boast about us being the 4th or 5th largest city. I don't think Sheffield matches other big UK cities in economic force. You might think it doesn't matter, but it does, as we all need jobs to pay taxes to maintain a city in which we are happy to live.

 

There is an international airport with very good scheduled connections to the rest of the world within easy reach, but the existing infrastructure is not in place to take advanage of it. An airport termnal with parking and a fast (relative) rail link would encourage people from this side of the Pennines to start their journey in Sheffield. It would help make Sheffield a business-friendly place.

 

I'm not thinking of this for selfish reasons, but because over the years I've seen Sheffield degrade as a place to live, or at least fall behind economically. You may not agree, but that's my opinion. Malls and cheap retailers don't do it for me when it comes to assessing quality of life.

 

Who knows whether an airport terminal would make much difference, but I'd like to see Sheffielders take the bull by the horns and turn pride in our city into something real. After all, we have a Premiership football team now, so we've made a start!

 

 

The train service from Sheffield to Manchester airport is very good (regular -throughout the night etc) - except on Sunday mornings when it doesnt start running until quite late. So I think its more a specific issue to do with sunday morning services than general transport links issues.

[fuzzy 10]

I have to say i i was looking at holidays the other day and i said to the lady doing the sorting i wanted to fly from Manchester. She asked why not Doncaster or East Midland i said i wanted to be able to get the train and not have to pay for airport parking. I think she thought i was mad.

 

But to me manchester does seem the eastist option from Sheffield than playing about with the others.

[Bago 10]

I think there's only two train services from Sheffield to Manchester. One is a faster train, and the other is a slower one which visits every single stop in the Peak District. If you're unfortunate to get that one, you know where you're going. The faster service is by Transpennine Express which should only take around 50 minutes to Manchester City Centre, and a further 10-15 minutes to the airport. I don't know why, but there's always a lot of railwork with that route now. So on weekends, sometimes you end up taking a coach to Manchester provided by the train companies.

 

Do you notice that on the population numbers. It's declining over the years ? Manchester and London a lot more than cities like Sheffield or Birmingham. Actually, Sheffield is tiny compared to other cities ! I can't believe that Manchester has a smaller population size than Leeds or Sheffield. Is it because it's not taken into account 'Greater' Manchester ?

[cgksheff 44]

Those were the days. Eh?

 

When you could get out of bed 30 minutes before check-in!

[dragonsoup 10]

And how long has East Midlands and Leeds/Bradford been open? I don't expect miracles, but I do know that Manchester is now an International airport and that Finningley-Doncaster-Robin-Hood-Sheffield-International-Hows-Yer-Father is never going to catch up no matter how long it's open, because of the massive investment that has put Manchester so far ahead. It's the only viable international airport outside of the London area. Business people want to fly to Manchester and that's how airlines make money.

 

The infrastructure is already in place at Manchester. Who is going to invest in a terminal to an airport that has no flights and potentially won't ever have?

 

Why dont you just go and live in Manchester or London for gods sake! Shut up and go away . I can tell that you speak with a nasal whine and probably enjoy a round of golf and even worse probably watch it on tv whilst wearing the stupid check trousers....c..t

[ohhshurrup 10]

I wonder what rattled your cage so you had to get personal? You make such sweeping assumptions that it is no wonder you are so small-minded. And by-the-way I'd appreciate it if you quote my posts in the proper manner, so that people don't attribute the good ideas to you. If attacking me helps your lack of self-esteem, carry on. I don't mind.

 

 

Why dont you just go and live in Manchester or London for gods sake! Shut up and go away . I can tell that you speak with a nasal whine and probably enjoy a round of golf and even worse probably watch it on tv whilst wearing the stupid check trousers....c..t

[Bago 10]

I was gonna say, is it necessary ?

 

Well, being back on topic. I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in the commerce development of Sheffield. We're not too bad infrastructure wise. A good train line that goes to London. A few nearby airports accessible within 1 hr or so. Ironically, and some may not know this, there are some good suppliers still which supply metal components to other bigger companies dotted across the country. Maybe it stemmed from Sheffield's steel industrial days.

 

At the end of the day, it's down to the local government how they want to develop this bit of land. I was reading a magazine the other day about Upper Austria. It seems too good to be true. http://www.tmg.at/

Low employment rate. Good infrastructure. A government which supports the niche market of energy efficient technology development. There's a business park for quite a number of forefront technological companies doing research. The workforce is also quite highly skilled.

 

Now, if Sheffield can reach a part of that, and become like it was in the hay days of the steel industry. I would be laughing in this generation. I know Sheffield was quite the place to be once upon a time, when the economy was good.

 

Linz, which has influenced the entire province through its transition from a steel city into a center for technology and the arts, now has a remarkable cultural scene:

 

I think the council tried to jump onto the band wagon with the technology wave. We only managed to attract Insight. Cambridge was meant to be the UK's Silicon Valley. It's ashamed that never really happened, and then IT bubble burst.

[Ade65 10]

Hi,

 

I've found getting the train to Manchester airport is okay, even if you sometimes end up waiting for hours at the airport (I've been on a few trips in last couple of years where I had to get an early morning train then slum around the airport) - but coming back to Sheffield, the trains from Manchester seem to stop unreasonable early, considering Sheffield is a big city.

 

It would be good for us here - and for the airport - if a more formal linking system was in place; as was mentioned right at the start, being able to check bags in here would be marvellous, and I'm sure it isn't an insurmountable problem.

 

Ade

[troyhark 10]

Actually, no locals will pay to use this service whether going in or out of the country. It is convenient for tourists, and for exhibition attendees. The cost is a little bit high for the local market, so people actually don't use this service much, and it's pretty empty half the time. I know, cos I came back this time using the fast train to the airport and nearly the whole of the train was empty. Apart from a few foreigners.

Two points, baggage check in at train station is free [for us the user] and it's for tourists, exhibition attendees, business people and locals like myself who want to go travel elsewhere.

 

 

It's great for other people to use, but it's taken HK years to build up this kind of infrastructure, and they're able to do it because the government does subsidise, and does get involved in either giving the planning permission, or finding finances to support the build of it. It's also because HK is another financial centre and capital of the world that such infrastructure exists. On top of it, the government is trying to push and sell tourism a lot, and to sell the country/city as a top exhibition centre in the SE Asia region. With that kind of publicity and backing, it is no wonder it can exist.

Ever heard the phrase 'Build it and they will come'? Besides aren't we talking about putting some bags on a train, it's not rocket science, but it is something that will encourage Sheffielders to use Man.Airport rather than Luton or Heathrow, let alone East Midlands or Robin Hood. Cheap flights aren't cheap when you have to park your car for a couple of weeks.