Madam, - The people of the north-west should not lightly forgive any decision by a UK government minister to close "lesser used" railway lines in this part of Ireland.
The lines are "lesser used" because at present they offer a relatively unattractive service but I strongly believe, with adequate investment to improve the service, the lines from Ballymena to Derry could become a major asset to the disadvantaged north-west.
With our relatively poor roads becoming ever more congested, the days of repeating the mistakes of the 1960s by closing railway lines ought to be long past.
This was recognised recently by the Republic's transport minister, Seamus Brennan, when he announced the re-opening of a long closed line in Co Cork.
Furthermore, the lovely line between Coleraine and Derry, particularly as it runs along the edge of Lough Foyle over a vast tract of land reclaimed from the sea, was a huge engineering achievement and it would be tragic to lose it.
In any case, its future ought to be a matter for local representatives and not for colonial-style government ministers, accountable only to constituents in Great Britain. Any decision ought to await the successful restoration of devolution.
Perhaps this could be speeded up if our MLAs were not paid such generous salaries to indulge in endless, overpaid sterile confrontation. - Yours, etc.,
NORMAN HAMILL, Eglinton, Co Derry.