Everyone is getting excited today about government plans to spend 50 million pounds on refurbishing Britain’s railway stations, including Manchester Victoria (pictured).

But the question is: will it ever happen?

Granted, Lord Adonis seems to be a decent individual who
is passionate about improving Britain’s rail infrastructure, but the fact of the matter is that by this time next year he probably won’t be in a position of power to the same extent that he is now.

Although the Conservatives have acknowledged that something needs to be done about the state of our railways, they are far more unlikely to commit themselves to major spending programme in a time of economic hardship.