The dead hand of the DfT

In the report on Community Rail Partnerships ( RAIL 867), the Government states that it will “provide strategic direction”, “hold meetings” and “maintain a team within the DfT” to “review strategy”.

Can anyone else think of anything more guaranteed to strangle the life out of intended local initiatives than the cold, dead hand of a bunch of DfT bureaucrats armed with strategies and reviews?

T J Hewitt, West Midlands