When the drawer clanged shut on a report outlining radical change, it was consigned to oblivion, usually because it was too expensive to action, or ministers did not regard it as a political priority. That civil servant’s words popped into my mind last week when the National Infrastructure Commission outlined how Britain should build for the future, which had some thought-provoking assessments of what our region needs to prosper.
Long-suffering passengers know real improvements would mean faster and more frequent services, on which it’s possible to get a seat, not fewer trains. Taken together, the NIC report and the latest inadequacies of TPE amount – presumably unintentionally – to an official acknowledgement of how badly served our region has been over investment in critical infrastructure upon which economic progress depends. That’s as depressing as it is infuriating.