What better places to underline the turning wheels of history? “The Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie,” intoned the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, adding with just a touch of hyperbole: “In just a matter of years, rail passengers in the UK could be able to visit these iconic sights – direct from the comfort of a train.”
After a decade in which ministers sold off Britain’s share in Eurostar and left the company teetering on the brink, international rail travel is back on the government’s menu du jour. With Alexander announcing a bilateral agreement on rail with Germany last month, after a similar deal with Switzerland in May, long-lapsed ambitions for direct trains across the continent have revived.
