D AVID Wood has written many excellent letters to the local press laying out the obvious benefits of reopening local urban railway lines around Bristol.

He has illustrated this with very successful examples such as Ebbw Vale-Cardiff.

These point the way that we should be moving with our local transport. Other cities with an Integrated Transport Authority have secured funding for similar schemes. Because the local Bristol region has not been able to secure an ITA, the whole area is potentially stuck with an impending Bus Rapid Transit system that the public do not want.

Rail is the way forward, with a really low carbon footprint.

Roger English.