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2006 Series

WHY THE TRAINS DON'T WORK

Passenger numbers on the railways are at their highest for 40 years. So why are lines and stations being closed, asks Andrew Gilligan?

Friday 3rd March 7.30pm
Sunday 5th February 4.40am

Subsidy, in real terms, is five times what it was under BR. So why did some fares go up by more than a quarter this year alone?

Andrew Gilligan finds some surprising answers, and some unexpected bad guys. In a journey round the rails of Britain he meets the people who can fix the network.

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Bring Back the Orphanage
Friday 9 March 2007

Author Phil Frampton was raised in a Barnado's Children's Home, and believes that the home gave him the stability to make a better start in life than the fostering system achieves for most children in its care today. With a shortage of 8,000 foster carers, too many children in foster care are frequently moved from pillar to post around the system, with each move invariably damaging the child emotionally and educationally.