Train drivers’ pay

sir – In the days of steam, driving a train was a highly skilled job to which many people aspired. Today, it seems to be a mundane job requiring few skills and little training.

Why is it, then, that train drivers are paid about three times as much as bus drivers, who, given modern traffic, appear to have a far more demanding role? I suspect the answer has to do with the unions’ malign influence. Geoffrey Wyartt

Newent, Gloucestershire

sir – The rapid rise in railway wages after privatisation was in part due to the labour market it created. Operators did not want the expense of training new drivers and would poach from others, with prestige operators paying higher wages. Productivity also increased dramatically as conditions were negotiated out of contracts.

The four-day week and a reliance on overtime is preferred by operators, as it requires fewer staff and lower overall costs. However, regulations governing maximum hours, introduced after Sir Anthony Hidden’s report in 1989 into the Clapham rail crash, are strict and help to maintain the railways’ excellent safety record. Charles Allen

Wrexham