Sector Focus
Business Travel
Sponsored by: Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways achieve award winning world first on earth’s biggest slide
By Lucy Evans Marketing Manager
This summer Chiltern Railways completed a world first by recording a radio ad on earth's highest and longest slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. The ad has been announced as the latest winner of an Aerial Award which celebrates the best of British radio advertising. The 30-second spot, which
aired in the West Midlands and Oxfordshire, was captured on a radio mic as a voice-over artist hurtled at high speed from top to bottom of the 178- metre slide in just 40 seconds. The voice-over artist rode the slide six times to get the perfect take, and his hair- raising stunt was also captured by a video which has been shared on Chiltern’s YouTube channel. The radio ad formed part of
Chiltern's summer campaign and was created in partnership with advertising agency, The Gate London. The stunt aimed to promote Chiltern’s Family Travelcard which is priced from just £25 for return train travel to London. It also includes 2FOR1 entry to some of London’s biggest attractions and unlimited travel on buses and the tube. Peter Williams, Interim
Commercial Director at Chiltern Railways said: “Summer is all about having fun and trying something new. We wanted to encourage families to take a trip to London by train and experience all it has to offer. Since the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a fairly new 2FOR1 attraction, we thought we'd ask our voice over artist to take on the ultimate challenge to show families just how much fun there is to be had."
54 CHAMBERLINK October 2017
Iron Man kicks off next phase of tram extension
The next phase in the expansion of the Midland Metro tram network officially got underway when one of Birmingham’s most iconic statues – Iron: Man – was lifted out of Victoria Square. Mayor for the West Midlands
Andy Street and John Clancy, former leader of Birmingham City Council, joined onlookers as two cranes slowly raised the six tonne metal sculpture out of the ground. The removal of Iron: Man,
created by renowned artist Antony Gormley, marked the start of work on the new £149m Westside tram extension. This will take trams from New
Street Station, through Victoria Square and a redeveloped Paradise Circus, past Centenary Square, along Broad Street and through Five Ways before stopping in Hagley Road, Edgbaston. The work is part of a 10-year
expansion of the tram network by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) including new routes through Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Sandwell. Iron: Man, which was erected in
1993 but is now standing in the direct path of the extension, will be given a clean up by conservation specialists and put into storage by Birmingham Museums Trust. He is scheduled to return to Victoria Square late next year. The Mayor, who gave the signal
to start the lift by sounding an air horn, said: “Extending the Metro through the city centre to New Street station has already proved a
I am Iron Man: the iconic statue is taking a brief holiday from Victoria Square
‘The work is part of a 10-year expansion of the tram network’
tremendous success. People like the trams and want more of them. “That’s why we will be tripling
the size of the network over the coming decade so our towns and cities are not only better connected to each other but also to the HS2 high speed rail line. “This will help create a transport
network that can underpin economic growth and jobs and bring greater prosperity for everyone in the West Midlands.” The start of work follows
confirmation last week that the Government will put nearly £60m towards the cost.
A further £84m will come from
the WMCA’s transport arm, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) and the Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone. The remaining £5m will come from third party developer contributions. The 2km extension will have
tram stops at the Town Hall, Centenary Square, Brindley Place, and either side of the Five Ways roundabout in Edgbaston. Trams are expected to start running to Centenary Square in 2019/20 and to Edgbaston by 2021.
Bid a Merry Christmas to Berlin
German low-cost carrier Eurowings is to launch flights from Birmingham to Berlin. The new flight will operate twice
weekly on Fridays and Sundays from 1 December 2017 until 7 January 2018, catering for the Christmas market and New Year city break seekers. All services are planned with an
A320 aircraft configured to 180 seats. Flights are scheduled to arrive from Berlin at 2.20pm and depart Birmingham at 3pm.
William Pearson, aviation director
for Birmingham Airport, said: “It’s fantastic to see Eurowings expanding its list of routes from Birmingham Airport to cater for the popular festive market. “Berlin is a great city with world
renowned museums, architecture, entertainment venues, nightlife and a cosmopolitan culture. We are sure these flights will be very
popular with passengers seeking a break around the festive season.” Ivan Orec, network development
and airport relations manager for Eurowings, said: “We know how popular traditional German markets are around Christmas time and Berlin has one of the best. It’s also a fantastic city to be in to celebrate the New Year.” Fares start from £39.99 one-way, including taxes and charges.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
