John Prescott faced one of the toughest tasks in getting on top of his transport brief even before the Paddington train crash brought rail safety to the front of everyone's mind.

Pre-reshuffle speculation had raised the possibility of hiving off transport from the other responsibilities of the role Mr Prescott now occupies: Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

While some newspapers have insisted the deputy prime minister is simply unable to cope with the magnitude of the transport problems, Tony Blair has again put his faith in the old Labour favourite.