When Sir Rod Eddington, former chief executive of British Airways, unveiled his much-anticipated study of the UK’s transport problems on Friday morning, there was a palpable sense of deflation from some of those present. Where, some muttered, were the big solutions to the UK’s transport problems? Why was there no recommendation that the UK build a high-speed, north-south railway line?

The reaction misunderstood the key difference between this and previous reports including a 10-year transport plan from 2000.