Travellers pay price as rail policy runs out of control

As fares rise again, it would be nice to see some coherent decisions in WhitehallMany commuters will have been on holiday, and off the railways, when large parts of the network were shut down in a power blackout nine days ago. But they were in the dark, or powerless, in other matters too. Last week the government announced a perplexing decision for Britain’s major intercity route, the west coast mainline, on the same day passengers were digesting news of another rise in fare prices.The lat