Clemency suggests

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Trains really can take the strain – if we invest in them

Whether Britain merely has the worst railways in Europe, or now offers consistently the most unpleasant train-travel experience in the entire developed world, is a subject much discussed by passengers – especially those who find themselves stranded somewhere in this dysfunctional system without reliable information, adequate air-conditioning or hope of improvement.

Features

Sun, wind and tide

Janice Warman detects a sea change in attitudes to alternative power generation, and looks at the technologies that are attracting investors’ attention

Dedicated follower of e-fashion

What downturn? The upstart online fashion retailer Asos is raking it in as celebrity-mad customers snap up clothes as worn by Sienna, Kate, Posh and Agyness, says Jane Lewis

Investor

Help? Don’t ask us

Companies hit by the downturn shouldn’t look to the highly liquid but notoriously self-interested private equity industry

Commodity of the month

Carbon trading

King coal prepares for a comeback

Neil Barnett says the miners’ union that took on Margaret Thatcher and lost is now talking surprisingly good sense about Britain’s future energy security

Neil Barnett