SO the Warminster-Waterloo service is probably going to be axed. As a regular user of this popular rail link I consider this decision to be a paradox. On the one hand the government is trying to persuade us to use public transport and at the same time the Strategic Rail Authority is prepared to axe this profitable and well-used service.

A couple of years ago, when this service was first under threat, the reason given was the unavailability of platforms at Waterloo. Now we are told that it is because of a shortage of rolling stock. Perhaps a cynic might be of the opinion that this service has become too popular.

After all, if this direct rail link from Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge and Warminster is axed, then the only other local alternative is to travel from Westbury to Paddington and the fare for this journey is approximately 30 per cent more.

I think that perhaps the strategy of the Strategic Rail Authority needs further investigation.

CLLR P COX-MAIDMENT

Westbury Leigh

THE news that the Waterloo train service via Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge and Warminster is to be cut from December 12 has come like a bombshell to local residents.

Just when we thought the service was safe, the Strategic Rail Authority now tell us that apparently in view of the shortage of rolling stock they have had no option but to withdraw the service.

At a time when people are being encouraged to use modes of transport other than the car, is it not extraordinary that our much-prized and local rail service is scheduled for discontinuation?

M. McNulty, the Transport Minister, was in west Wiltshire only a few months ago opening the Home Zone in Warminster and the new Semington link road. It would help Dr Murrison MP in his dialogue with the minister, in his struggle on our behalf, if his constituents could write to him stressing how much travel by train means to them and how essential it is for the Waterloo service to be kept open.

Pressure on the government must be maintained if success is to be achieved. We won last time. Why can we not win again?

C MARCH

Town and District Councillor

Warminster

THE intended closure of the Waterloo service, with its stopping trains, and the abolition of hunting with hounds both demonstrate the government's refusal to listen to evidence. Their aim is to divert public attention from difficulties in other areas. In a totalitarian democracy, numbers count. Nationwide, more people live in towns and suburbs than in villages. Those who work on the land are a minority of a minority; those who hunt are an even smaller minority. The transport needs of country hicks in south west Wiltshire can be set aside.

The evidence that hunting with hounds is likely to cause a less painful death of the quarry than other methods of killing, can be ridiculed. The government intends to waste police effort in stopping hunting at the expense of protecting people against real crime. The government has opened fire in a war between town and country. Protest marches are not enough.

C COPELAND-GRIFFITHS

Wingfield