This Is The Age Of The Train

I've mentioned before how much faith I put in railway planners and consultants when they try and predict the future.

And that is, not much.

They have an abysmal track record, invariably having their passenger number predictions blown away. I've long said that when it comes to the railway, you should live by the mantra "if you build it, they will come".

So it's with a pinch of salt that I read the news that Network Rail expects a 40% growth in passengers in the next 25 years, and a 9% growth in freight.

Railway passenger numbers grew 40% in just five years at the turn of the century. What on earth makes Network Rail think it'll take another 25 years to do the same thing?

You can be sure of one thing - if an 'expert consultant' says 40%, it'll probably be more like 60 or 70%.