FEW regions of Britain have railways more in their DNA than the North- East – George Stephenson, the Stockton and Darlington Railway and all that; colliery wagonways even earlier; a long tradition of train building – locos and rolling stock – newly revived; and we needn’t speak of the Railway King, York’s George Hudson, whose place in railway history – hero or villain – is still hotly debated.

Along the way have been renowned railway companies – the Stockton and Darlington, of course, but also its ever-widening successors, the North Eastern Railway and the London and North-Eastern. But I think it’s fair to say that most north-easterners, perhaps in line with the majority elsewhere, believe the best arrangement was the unified nationwide system, implemented in 1948 as British Railways, later re-named British Rail.

Privatised since 1996, the network nevertheless currently has a shining example of state ownership delivering a quality service.

Following disastrous mismanagement by private operators, the East Coast Main Line has, for the past five years, been run as a state venture by the so-called Directly Operated Railways (DOR). Customer satisfaction is high and the service earns money for the taxpayer.

So it should be good to learn that though the government intends to de-couple DOR before next year’s general election, state ownership of the East Coast line might continue.

Trouble is that the state ownership might be that of France, whose state railway, SNCF, is among bidders to run the service.

This crazy possible transfer of state control to a foreign country is not confined to the East Coast line.

The government is prepared to sell its 40 per cent stake in Euro Star, the Channel Tunnel service, which could also be bought be the French, who already hold 55 per cent.

A century-and-a-half after pioneers like Stephenson put Britain at the forefront of the railway revolution, what greater humiliation could there be than for (state-owned) showpieces of the network to pass into foreign hands?

A WORD of praise for the good sense of Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss in rejecting the chairmanship of the government- initiated inquiry into allegations of a cover up of a paedophile ring in parliament and Westminster in the 1980s.

Among the barrage of criticism of her appointment was a declaration of no confidence by the Care Leavers’ Association, representing people once in care, including victims of child abuse.

A spokesman said: “It will be just another whitewash.”

Unfair to a former judge of unassailable integrity, the charge nevertheless would have hung about any conclusion that there had been no cover up, given that the attorney general during the crucial period was Lady Butler-Sloss’s brother, the late Sir Michael Havers.

On BBC Radio 4 I heard a defender of her appointment insist there was simply no-one else who could do the job as well. Since the lady is 80 that doesn’t say much for her successors.

We must be hoping she lives for ever.