Driving me mad

extending the Borders railway beyond Tweedbank can be no coincidence. Why waste an opportunity to demonstrate possible largesse?

Promoters, particularly in Hawick, should step back and examine the evidence – not something politicians are much cop at. Retail in both Galashiels and Melrose continues to suffer from reduced footfall and spend, which has been lost to Edinburgh, which the railway has made much more accessible. In the past yearorsothere’sbeenanoticeable increase in retail closures in Melrose.

Also of material significance are the errors in the reopening of the line to Tweedbank, in particular the capacity constraints caused by the lengthy single track sections.

Passenger numbers are a single metric. A more holistic analysis would equally acknowledge the consequential shake-up of and reduction in service on bus routes.

We can only hope that Jacobs’ professional standards outweigh their desire to please their client. ROBERT MILLER-BAKEWELL I have just watched on iplayer an episode of the BBC’S Holding Back the Years in which two of my 80-year-old friends took part. I was appalled when Bill Turnbull, the programme presenter, joined a nurse to visit an elderly patient. The nurse drove the car and talked to Bill as she drove and often looked sideways at Bill as she talked. Why do programme makers feel they must put people into a car and interview them driving as part of the programme? If it is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving, surely speaking to a camera is no different!

MIKE MCKINNELL