It is reported that Manchester Metrolink is examining the possibility of buying second-hand trams from the German city of Bonn to allow it to expand in spite of Government financial rules which may prevent it buying new vehicles.

Now campaigners - who realise that the Government has slipped back into the pocket of the road lobby and has launched another big road building programme – are realising that public transport will have to depend on hand-me-downs from more advanced European countries.

The Bonn trams are not ultra-modern low-floor vehicles, having a floor-height of 900mm.

But that corresponds roughly with the station platform levels on the mothballed Cambridge-St Ives line.

So if there are enough Bonn trams going spare, the line could be reopened.

Platforms at four surviving stations remain intact and would require little work to make them usable again.

Adding a low-floor centre section to the trams would also enable them to travel into Cambridge city centre without having to build Metrolink-style high platforms.

The idea could be expanded to include other areas, including Luton-Dunstable.

For years, Britain has sold off its old trains and buses abroad. Now the long-term failure of Government public transport policy looks like ensuring Britain will become an importer of ideas and hardware.