I have just received a letter from Railtrack which contains the following: "Railtrack is generally happy to support ... aspirations of local authorities wherever these do not conflict with the requirements of our train operator customers."
In other words shareholders of private companies entrusted with providing rail transport come before the needs of 300,000 people in north Wiltshire and Swindon.
It is inconceivable that within that population there does not exist an urgent need for local train services.
The front page of the Adver November 6, featured a picture of a typical traffic jam. One driver caught in it Lisa Fowler with her small daughter. She might have been spared this trauma if she could have visited Swindon by train from her home in Marlborough.
Marlborough is just one of 25 stations taken out of service within a 15 mile radius of Swindon.
It is time the local MPs challenged the Strategic Rail Authority to establish a revitalised plan that will ensure local rail networks are restored where they are desperately needed, like Swindon and North Wiltshire
ERIC BEINT
Lydgate
Burnley
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