Реферат: United Kingdom of Great Britain
The UK is surrounded by water, but with the low cost of air travel, where and when is sea travel a viable option? Here is a guide the main ferry services from the UK.
Rail Information
The railway in the UK, started in 1825, is the grandfather of all railway systems, now featuring more than 2,400 stations serviced by 15,000 daily departures. The fast inter-city trains have standard or first class seats, the latter offering varying degrees of luxury and additional service, depending on the service operator. Standard seating is generally comfortable and most trains have restaurant or buffet cars or mobile refreshments. There are air-conditioned sleeping cars on overnight services from London to Wales, Scotland and the south-west of England.
Whenever you travel by train, ask which kind of ticket will save you the most money. There are many variables depending on when you travel. Also ask your local British Tourist Authority office or travel agent about railway ticket discount packages. The BritRail Pass, for example, is not sold in the UK. In North America it is available from Rail Europe in New York, and in Europe you can get it from Rail Europe offices, selected travel agents and major railway stations. Please not that travel on the London Underground or Heathrow Express is not included in a BritRail pass.
Make advance reservations to carry cycles by train; sometimes there is a small charge for this.
Timetables
Network Rail - Provides rail timetable information for Britain's national rail network.
DB Timetable search - Provides european (including UK) rail timetable information.
Xephos Internet - Although unofficial, a very good public transport journey planner. Includes bus and rail timetables.
Travel InfoSystems - Provides online and software application based journey planning solutions.
Live Train Running Information
National Rail - Provides a central source for all UK rail enquiries including real time running information for train services across the British railway network.
Tram information
Tram systems now exist in the following parts of the country:
Blackpool Trams - Operates between Blackpool and Fleetwood.
Croydon Tramlink - Serves parts of South London.
Metrolink - Operates in the Greater Manchester area.
Midland Metro - Operates between Birmingham and Wolverhamption.
Stagecoach Supertram - serves the city of Sheffield with three light rail routes covering 29 kilometres across the city.
Air Travel Information
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Book Airline Tickets (from InfoTransport)
Ebooker - Great prices from hundreds of airlines to anywhere in the world.
Air France - Travel the world with Air France.
German Wings - Great prices to Germany.
KLM UK - Travel the world with KLM.
Singapore Airlines - Direct flight to Singapore.
Virgin Atlantic - Flights around the world.
Catering
Restaraunts
There are about 50,000 restaurants in the United Kingdom. Their turnover amounted to £18.2 billion in 2001. Almost two-thirds of businesses offer takeaway facilities.
The industry is highly fragmented, with low entry barriers. The majority of restaurants are independent small businesses, trading through a single outlet.
In 2002, 93% of VAT-registered firms had a turnover of less than £500,000 (with 43% having sales of under £100,000). Only 3% of VATregistered firms had a turnover of £1m or more. The three largest chains are estimated to account for less than 10% of the market; the leading 40 chains account for less than 15%.