More missing links

Martin Kerridge highlights the need for an Arundel Chord which would greatly increase the potential journeys near the Sussex coast and towards London ( RAIL 824).

There are many such missing links in our rail system. Nearby at Barnham, a busy rail junction close to Bognor Regis, a short spur would connect the resort with a through line towards Chichester, Portsmouth and Southampton - a busy commuter and tourist route.

In Ayrshire, a spur at Barrassie would (in theory) permit through workings between Kilmarnock and the Dumfries/Carlisle line and

the electrified line towards Glasgow and Largs. This would involve land take at a famous local golf course.

Also, the county town has had a vital chord lifted immediately adjacent to its football club at Somerset Park. This very short line was part of a very useful line between Ayr and Mauchline, then stations to Dumfries and Carlisle, and could still be used for passenger services. It once carried the diverted Stranraer-DumfriesLondon Sleeper.

Ayr railway station is currently very short of space. There have been calls to reopen rail stations at Mauchline (whose case is very strong) and Cumnock (a larger settlement whose long-closed station is less central to the town).

Glasgow’s missing link, the former Tron Line, lies like an unused embarrassment in dire need of reinstatement. We badly need to listen to rail lobbyists. Graham Lund, Girvan