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Good morning. The 28000 miles that measures the Earth’s circumference is a good approximation of how far I travel by rail most years. Comfortable and convenient most of the time, it can be frustrating when leaves on the line, unanticipated snow, or the enigmatic, “incident outside Watford”, grind the network to a halt. But just now the frustration of many across the North of England is less with delays to the 0855 via Crewe than the cancellation of new lines in years to come. Last week’s announcement of future rail plans confirming some significant investment sparked a debate about where and how much to invest and received a mixed reception across the region. Trains connect us, and connections matter. Fast services across England’s North are not simply about halving the travel time from Liverpool to Leeds. The face to face meetings they facilitate, build trust, respect and understanding, in ways that no Zoom calls can. Good trains are part of the scaffolding many believe is needed, if we are to build a Northern identity strong enough to counterbalance the constant pull of London, and, to borrow phrase, level up. Centuries before George Stephenson’s Rocket first spewed steam into the air, the Protestant Reformation, spurred by the increased connectivity that followed the invention of printing, swept across Europe. At its heart it proclaimed that, as God has connected face to face with humanity in Jesus, human beings do not need priests, or saints, to link them with God, they can, by their personal prayers, and through bibles translated into their native tongue, connect directly. What’s more, Christians, Catholic and Protestant, as well as adherents of many other faiths, have discovered that connecting directly with God helps them build better connections with both their coreligionists and their community. Connection leads to care, and care opens the door to service, advocacy, partnership, collaboration, all those words that we use to describe joined up human activity. In the various regions where I’ve worked, I’ve seen how the level of face to face connection amongst those responsible for leading civic, commercial and community life, impacts on the capacity to get things done - from combatting homelessness to staging celebrations. Two of the meetings I’ll be chairing today, will be the first times those groups have gathered together since Covid took hold. Reconnecting physically will strengthen our bonds and prepare us to tackle the hard work ahead. One however, is across the Pennines in Yorkshire. As I pull on my seatbelt and place myself at the mercy of the traffic on the M62, I admit I’ll be wishing the train could take the strain.