People in Wiltshire have good reason to be concerned about the future of our railways. The Strategic Rail Authority has announced the withdrawal of the Bristol to Oxford service.

This means the long campaign to re-open Corsham station, which had seemed to be on the brink of success, is now effectively scuppered as there are to be no trains to stop there. The SRA will make further cuts in September. Many Wiltshire lines could be vulnerable, and the recent improvements to services from Melksham could be lost.

There could be fewer trains through West Wilts to Waterloo. In the south of the county the project to twin-track the Salisbury to Exeter line is also likely to be scrapped. Smaller schemes such as the plan to improve Chippenham station are disappearing too.

The SRA does not consult local authorities before making its decisions. As a quango it lies outside of the democratic process so there's little point in writing to our MPs to complain. Normally when a service is under threat we're told to "use it or lose it". The paradox in this case is that the cuts are said to be necessary to cope with increased demand.

An alternative way of dealing with demand would of course be positive investment. It's unfortunate that central government has chosen not to follow this route.

Trevor Carbin,

Church St,

Hilperton.