When the Train is a Strain

For a man who wants to get on in the Labour Party Jon Cruddas is beginning to develop a worrying tendency towards common sense. Despite the clear economic and environmental benefits of renationalisation, the merest whiff of socialism - which only upsets the headline writers and puts Middle England off its cornflakes - ensures it'll never happen under a Brown government (though it patently would under a green one).

Nothing better encapsulates the insanity of our railways than the fact that unplanned train journeys have become more expensive than driving. Though cutting fares seems the obvious solution, a more likely alternative is to keep whacking punitive taxes on car owners until taking the train is seen as very, very expensive but driving as prohibitively so.

Watch this space. It's cheaper than travelling.