Tuning needed

SNP grievance and perceived injury, if he, by his own public admission, is “no expert”?

MARK WARD Dalmellington Road, Glasgow I read with interest that the costs of upgrading Scotland’s railways has gone well over budget and time scales. No surprise there. The electrification of central Scotland’s railways is a massive undertaking for Network Rail and its subcontractors. Surely there is someone in Transport Scotland keeping up to date with the process? It seems not, and it’s the same with Scotrail. Long delays, cancellations and long engineering operations are a major issue. Then we read it’s Network Rail’s fault or Scotrail’s.

Network Rail is owned by the taxpayer. Scotrail is owned by a Dutch railway, who should never have been given Scotland’s railway. It’s about time Transport Scotland started to understand Scotland’s railway and control the companies that run it. The Scottish government are investing large amounts of money in Scotland’s railways, which is great, but please start taking responsibility and police the companies that run our railway or take Scotrail over. Now there’s a thought.

EDWARD CARR Edinburgh Road, Perth It is always a pleasure to read Kelly Apter’s very knowledgeable comments on ballet, but for The Scotsman to ask her to emulate the high standard of music criticism established by Ken Walton was most unfair.

After a concert by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra I always look forward to reading Mr Walton’s interesting comments on the music and its interpretation, but what did we have in Monday’s paper? A report which vaguely referred to the music in meaningless