Network Rail has unveiled plans for big improvements on the c2c line and at Liverpool Street station, mostly centred on extending platforms for longer trains.

The news can be received with strong support for the plans and guarded optimism that they may actually happen.

The rail industry has a history of schemes that are announced to fanfares, then left to gather dust. It also has a propensity to recycle old schemes in new packages.

However, this is a wholly fresh scheme and there is every reason to hope the platform lengthening will happen.

Network Rail is rattled by increasing talk of renationalisation, which already looks a strong possibility in Scotland. It has to be seen to deliver the goods.

Use of the railways is also rising fast. This means the network must find a way to cope with the extra passengers. It also means increased revenues.

The funds, then, really are available to invest in new building projects.

Network Rail will be watched carefully to ensure Essex lines receive their fair share of the benefits.

Whale I never

A 16ft long whale's jawbone has been hauled up from the Thames Estuary by Southend fisherman Peter Osborne.

That means the whale itself, when alive, must have been at least 50ft long.

Was it global warming that brought it here, or is there an even simpler explanation?

It can't be easy finding a mate when you are so long, but perhaps the creature thought it had finally discovered its soul-mate.

Sadly, though, Southend Pier probably wasn't interested.