The Gricer report
THERE is nothing wrong with this railway (I.K. Gricer writes) except for the commit- ments taken over from the previous own- ers. Its counterpart in France runs from the coast to the Paris border, where it joins the main line to the Gare du Nord. This rail- way is meant to run from the coast to the London border, where it could join the main line to its handsome and convenient terminus, still boldly named Waterloo. The border, though, is where the big spending starts, and for reasons that are not com- mercial but political. The trains must come to the East End because Michael Heseltine wanted to rejuvenate it. They must burrow deep under Islington, and ignore the four- track railway that is there already, for fear that their noise might upset Tony Blair 's former neighbours. Their terminus must face north because it was important for northerners to feel involved. By way of involving them, sleeping car trains were ordered and built, irrespective of cost or demand. They are now parked in an army siding in the Midlands and will never run. Trains from the north to the coast and the Continent can, of course, go round London, and soon will. They no more need a terminus than the Rocket needs an after-burner.
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