Madam,

Tony Jones (Cambrian News 7 and 21 January) states his opinions on to Aberystwyth to Carmarthen railway reinstatement with great certainty. It is a pity that he couldn’t be bothered to check his facts for either of his recent letters.

The washout that precipitated the closure of the line in 1964 was not at Llanfarian. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmarthen_to_Aberystwyth_Line#Closure – or indeed the Scoping Report, page eight.

Mr Jones describes the washout and closure as taking place “in the glory days of rail”. The 1960s might well be described as the glory days of Beeching and Marples but, while some of Dr Beeching’s actions were beneficial, it beggars belief to suggest that this was a good time for Britain’s railways. I will venture here to suggest that we might be approaching a glory day. The growth in rail use is considerable. The Scoping Report is a fair-minded document that doesn’t fear to state some of the problems in reinstating the line. Mr Jones, on the other hand, seems to have trawled through it seeking only the negatives. This might be a way to win arguments. It is not suitable for finding good solutions to problems.

Yours etc

Keith Lucas

New Cross.