YOU might recall that previously I argued there wasn’t a case for High Speed Two, the proposed new rail link bringing the over-developed south closer to the north. I’m still not convinced that saving twenty minutes here and there on major rail journeys is of serious economic value, and the amount of carbon produced in its construction and use is unacceptable.

However while those in favour, the major political parties and UKIP, rightly suggest new lines would also ease the capacity problem, that is provide more trains and more seats more often, there’s another answer, and one that has long been successful in Europe. Bus companies learned the lesson decades ago when they increased capacity by adding an upstairs to single deckers.

Twenty five years ago the Swiss considered the High Speed rail system that had developed in the much larger France and decided, rightly, that they were too small a country to gain significant benefit. It’s the same in the UK, and while Paris to Marseilles is 750km, Birmingham to London is only 188km and Leeds is just 313km from the capital.

The Swiss, therefore, decided to increase the capacity rather than the speed, and they did this with double decker trains. It meant re-engineering the existing routes, including raising bridges, adjusting approach roads, lifting platforms and, above all, increasing the height of tunnels.

This last task was daunting as Switzerland has more tunnels than any other rail system, but they managed it without disrupting the normal service by restricting the work to the middle of the night.

I certainly am in favour of similarly increasing the capacity of our rail system, including the movement of freight, as it will reduce, or at least help stabilise, the CO2 produced by road traffic.

It will be more challenging than in Switzerland as they had the benefit of a nationalised rail system, with no division between the network and the train companies, and they were already all electric.

The proposed northern High Speed Three, linking Liverpool to Hull and all places in between, doesn’t need a new route. It just requires the present one updating with electrification and increased capacity using new double decker rolling stock. It would be cheaper, produce less CO2, reduce the M62 traffic, take less time to construct, and give a real opportunity to link Bradford properly.

I last looked out of the upper windows on a double decker train as it was leaving Rabat station in Morocco. I hope one day to do the same while passing south through Frizinghall station, on a through train to Leeds.