Smoke signals

Not only does the move hold up much needed investment in the East Coast Main Line's ageing fleet, but it scuppers the prospect of hundreds of jobs being created at sites in Leeds, Doncaster and possibly Sheffield.

The Government may be talking big on transport with its ambitious, and welcome, plans for a high speed rail network running along the spine of the country, but this project will take years – if not decades – to materialise.

While it is clearly vital for the long-term prosperity of the Yorkshire economy, it must not be used as a smoke screen for ignoring the existing rail system which is desperately

under-funded.

What is unhelpful is the Transport Secretary's questioning of whether this project represents value for money. It does – and it is urgently needed with many trains already close to their sell-by date and chronically overcrowded at peak times.

Rather than saying that the country has run out of money, and has nowhere else to turn, Lord Adonis hopes this delaying tactic can avoid Labour some political embarrassment ahead of the election.

It will not work. If he's committed to the railways, he would be looking at alternative ways of bringing about these much needed improvements rather than allowing the train network to remain stuck in the past.