Reporters on the Job

• Where Railroads Make Money : While the Bush administration advocates cutting the annual Amtrak government subsidy of $1.2 billion, India's government-run railroad system is turning a profit. In fact, Delhi is adding 46 more trains. Today, correspondent Nachammai Raman reports on why India's train system is such a success (page 7). But she also admits to being surprised at the unimpressive station in Bangalore. "This is a booming high-tech city, but the station, to put it politely, looked like a rural one. It was quite small. It reminded me of a Greyhound bus station I once passed through in Philadelphia," she says.

"It was in such a state of disrepair that I wondered for a moment if I was in the right place. After all, airports, bus and train stations, are points of entry to major cities and you want them to give a good first impression. In fact, apart from the technology parks, much of Bangalore looked pretty run down."

• Which Way to Look? Correspondent Sophie Arie in Rome this week has been keeping her eye on two possible leadership changes in Italy. "What has been strange is watching the Italian government in turmoil (page 1) at the same time as history is being made across the Tiber in the Vatican. Two of the biggest and most significant stories in modern Italian history are playing out at the same time. It's hard to know which way to look," she says.

"While thousands were crying on the weekend that Pope John Paul II died, probably as many Italians were throwing parties to celebrate the victory of the leftists in regional elections. Not out of disrespect, but out of delight at what they hope is the beginning of the end of an era," she says.

David Clark Scott
World editor