Right track

Considering the massive programme of public spending unleashed by Gordon Brown, it is astonishing that apparently no one in government saw fit to ensure that transport improvements in this region, for example, kept pace with those in the rest of the country, particularly London and the South-East.

This failure, however, is clearly illustrated in a new report by the British Chambers of Commerce. This document, however, is not merely a lament for missed opportunities, it also points the way forward with its endorsement of a high-speed rail link between London and Yorkshire as the key to unlocking the region’s business potential.

The question now is whether the coalition Government can avoid the mistakes of its predecessor by ensuring that transport spending is carefully targeted so that talk of a North-South divide becomes a thing of the past. Certainly it has made a good start by backing a high-speed link and showing a willingness to defy Conservative voters in the Home Counties who seem convinced that its construction would disrupt their lives to an unacceptable degree.

The fact that cuts to public spending are now the order of the day, however, leaves very little room for manoeuvre. This is why Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, rather than doling out large sums of public money, must ensure that rail companies are given the incentives they need to make their own investments in the improvements Britain’s railways so badly need.

There is encouraging news here in the announcement by Northern Rail that more coaches will provide an extra 2,000 seats a day on trains into and out of Leeds. This is a small step forward, but if it is repeated consistently, then rail may finally play the role it must play if, as the Government keeps insisting, the private sector is to lead the economic recovery.