Mr Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, speaking to the House of Commons Select Committee on Transport about the much criticised proposed high speed rail link from London to the north, HS2, has said: "Uncomfortable fact number one is that the railway is already relatively a rich man's toy - the whole railway." Trains are used by "the better-off". "If you are a factory worker from Manchester you might never get on HS2 but you will certainly be benefiting from it, if the sales director of your company is routinely hopping on it to meet customers, to jet round the world from Heathrow in a way that brings in orders to keep you employed."
This is a rich vein, of which we shall see much more.
