Scrapped Eurostars could have provided key connections

Scrapping of barely middle-aged Eurostar sets ( RAIL 817), when there is still no direct European connection from the north of England and Scotland, demonstrates the lack of any Government commitment to the economies of the cities of northern England and Scotland.

Just when the prospect of Brexit makes better connection with Europe more important than ever, these vehicles could easily provide such a link, now that upgrades to the West Coast route and HS1 have reduced the potential journey time.

It also exposes the folly of allowing the Channel Tunnel (built substantially out of all of our taxes) to be maintained as an exclusive and expensive niche market by a private operator which is presumably anxious to ensure that its older vehicles are not cascaded down to potential competitors.

Are the economic regulators and the Department for Transport watching? Shouldn’t these vehicles (built at state expense) have been offered on the open market?

Maybe a state operator such as Direct Railways should be established to operate the service and show that “competition means competition”?

BRIAN MORRISON. On June 28 2008, the 1301 Eurostar from Paris Nord to St Pancras International approaches the Ebbsfleet International stop, with power car 373003 leading and 373004 on the rear. These two units were sent for scrap in December 2016, a situation which...