OF THE many proposals made to reduce congestion on Oxfordshire’s roads tram-trains seems like one of the most radical.

But despite the warnings about cost, largely based on the Edinburgh tram debacle which saw the project face delays and run over budget, the idea could work in our county.

As Richard Stow points out, we seem to have reached a point where we need to look beyond simply upgrading our existing road and rail network.

Over the past week we have seen how major arteries into Oxford, particularly from the west of the county, can be brought to a standstill by something out of the ordinary.

This time it was roadworks but often it can be a crash, bad weather or simply more people trying to get into the city than normal.

Tram-trains may seem like a bold move, and a big investment, but Mr Stow is absolutely right when he says that if this was Germany it would happen tomorrow morning.

At the very least, the proposals deserve to be seriously examined, and if they have merit work should, as Mr Stow suggests, start the next day.