RAILTRACK has developed its own weather monitoring technology. This will inevitably lead to wisecracks about the firm's ability to forecast showers of leaves on the line and downfalls of "the wrong type of snow".

Nonetheless, this is an imaginative initiative to try to counter one of the rail network's most persistent problems: the great British weather.

Already millions of pounds have been invested in finding a way to counteract the slippery issue of leaf falls. Now the new weather stations could help to minimise the impact of high winds and ice on rail services. If all this effort results in a faster, more reliable railway, comedians will be forced to look elsewhere for material.