East Coast Main line

The news of the change of franchisee and the upbeat statement of intentions needs to be tempered with a dose of reality. More trains will come from where? The previous operator (GNER) leased Eurostar kit and then handed it back. This equipment was not allowed North of Leeds for reasons best known to the railway enthusiasts. This demonstrated again that the interference by civil servants in keeping the power system on the complete routeat a low cost level was a false economy but no doubt some Sir Humphrey got a gong out of this. The continued use of diesel trains over large parts of the ECML also shows up the lack of foresight in wiring up the entire route but again the dead hand of the SDfT and treasury is all too obvious. The case for a wholly new route is surely becoming obvious but no doubt our dreadful planning system and the rampant NYMBYism that characterises the UK will slow this down to our collective dis-benefit.