Train not plane

Credit where credit is due, but this proposal (if it is real) to focus on a TGV network rather than a third runway is the sort of new thinking we need in the UK. Mind you, I notice that Wales, the West Country and Scotland are not included in the proposal. This could be good or bad; either a further example of neglect or possibly an early sign of a decision to ensure a permanent Tory majority in England by giving Wales and Scotland independence?

Back to public transport; I and others argued many years ago that the M25 (The London ring road, otherwise known as the largest parking lot on the planet) was a major mistake. Instead we argued for a ring railway, moving major stations from the centre of London to the ring, large park and ride facilities at the intersections (one would have been at Heathrow) and an RER set of links into central London. The power of the road lobby with the Tory Party at the time made that impossible. So I welcome the initiative, but I do wonder a bit about sheep, apparel and lupine manifestations.