Sir - The implementation of plans for a "credible, deliverable and affordable scheme" to restore the rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes is long overdue.
Yet another study has proved the obvious: passenger and freight trains should run over the existing rail lines beyond Bicester Town to Milton Keynes/Bletchley.
To quote our retiring Railfuture branch secretary, Martin Smith: "The line between Bicester and Bletchley could have been re-opened for the amount of money that has been spent on consultants' reports over the past 15 years". The study says the line could be upgraded "easily and quickly". Does it really take five years (to 2012), and £130m to reopen an existing line? Who is to co-ordinate and implement this? What part will the Department for Transport play? Indeed, the reopening of the strategic Oxford to Cambridge rail line (one which should never have been closed), looks further away than ever, and this at a time when reliable, energy-efficient rail transport has become an environmental imperative.
David Eldridge, Secretary, Railfuture, Thames Valley Branch, Berinsfield
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