I HAVE little enthusiasm for HS2. It has already swallowed a huge amount of public money before construction has started. It will surely go further over budget if we embarrass ourselves by authorising this whitest of elephants.

The West Coast Mail Line was electrified from Preston to Glasgow in 1974 with Carstairs to Edinburgh following later.

Thirty five years later on we have still not electrified the vital, single track branch line to Windermere's bus/rail interchange. Are the delights of the Lake District effectively marketed in Scotland's populous central belt?

We need to be much less focussed on London and the oddly titled Home Counties. Not everyone lives there.

Give us stronger trans-Pennine rail links firstly from Liverpool and Manchester to Leeds, York, Scarborough and Newcastle. The two routes east-west via Diggle and the Calder valley give plenty of scope for diversions.

There are calls to improve fares flexibility. Should we offer reduced fares from London soon after the morning peaks to increase rail use and swell the rail companies coffers making better use of existing capacity?

Graham Lund

Ambleside