I WAS astonished by the negative and blinkered letters of G Kirkpatrick published recently regarding the reopening of the Tavistock to Bere Alston railway line. The Drake Line project is not ?pie in the sky? but a modest, realistic and environmentally sustainable project which will bring enormous benefits to the town. Tavistock is rapidly expanding with two major housing developments in progress and others planned. The population will soon be double the level of 1968 when the railway closed. Traffic congestion and pollution on the A386 corridor can only substantially increase, I would suggest. Road improvements, such as a flyover at Derriford, can only bring short-term relief as the experience from around the country tells us that traffic quickly expands to fill any available capacity. The projected journey times from Tavistock to Plymouth by train would be 29 minutes for an ?express? service calling at Bere Alston and Devonport only, and 34 minutes for an ?all-stations? service. This is infinitely superior, I would suggest, to the interminable crawl from Woolwell Roundabout we all now suffer in rush hours. Not even Mr Kirkpatrick could achieve anywhere near these times in his car during the peak. The Drake Line project is also of net benefit financially to the Exchequer rather than the heavy drain which he claims. The Tamar Valley line is already heavily subsidised with its own dedicated diesel unit and train crew. Extension to Tavistock would substantially increase revenue with only a marginal increase in operating costs. Mr Kirkpatrick is advocating concreting over the Bere Peninsula as well? Tavistock would also accrue substantial network benefits by being plugged into the main rail system at Plymouth with onward connections to all parts of the country. Mike Widger Abbotsfield Crescent Tavistock
