Leading article: Romance of rail

Even in these days of incompetent franchises, delayed services, inflation-busting fare increases and diesel trains, there are few places capable of generating a romantic charge quite like a railway station.

That is why Colin Daniels, the chief executive of Warrington's Chamber of Commerce, is heading for the buffers in his attempt to stop kissing couples from congesting the platforms of the town's station. The "no kissing" signs that have been erected at Warrington Bank Quay are destined to be ignored.

Mr Daniels would have more luck if he tried to clamp down on cuddling in front of tropical sunsets, or to ban slow dancing at the end of well-refreshed wedding parties.

There are some activities that the bureaucrat's diktat simply cannot proscribe. And the long kiss before the train whisks a lover away is one of them. Warrington station can do its worst, but it will never be a passion killer.