THE war on traffic - epitomised by the battle we report tonight in Blackburn - is always going to face defeat because of the vital point raised in the debate in East Lancashire: that of the alternatives to road travel being second-rate.
For tonight we see that passenger complaints over train services in the North West rocketing by 158 per cent - that's six times the national average.
Similarly, we see transport supremo John Prescott today launching measures to protect and develop Britain's canals.
Our railways and waterways have been run down and cut down too much in the country's long love affair with roads.
A new drive to improve these neglected assets is needed if the baleful boom in cars and trucks is to be curbed.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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