Why British trains won’t cross the Irish Sea

sir – John Barstow’s idea of a fixed rail link to Northern Ireland (Letters, December 11), while sounding good, is technically fraught with problems, not least because the rail system of Ireland uses a non-standard gauge track.

The fixed link to Europe via the Channel Tunnel was possible only because most of Europe, including France, uses on its high-speed lines the same “standard” gauge as we do (1,435mm or 4ft 8½in), whereas Ireland uses a wider gauge of 1,600mm or 5ft 3in. This makes through-running to Ireland impossible without expensive gauge-changing equipment. Steve Beck

Charing, Kent

sir – David Pearson is right to have reservations about returning the railways to state control (Letters, December 9). In 1961, General Sir Brian Robertson resigned as chairman of the British Transport Commission because the task of modernising the railways proved to be beyond even his talents. His successor at the new British Railways Board was Dr Richard Beeching.

Historical evidence suggests that renationalisation may not be a smart move. Michael Nicholson

Arundel, West Sussex

sir – It was sectorisation – division into Intercity, commuter and freight sectors, etc – that split responsibility for track and train (Letters, December 10) and made the rail network open to non-british Rail trains. So successful was this reorganisation that it inspired EC 91/440, the first railway directive.

It was John Major who insisted on privatising the railways in the way that then happened. No other member of the EU has imitated this model. Joseph B Fox

Redhill, Surrey