Get transport back on track: LETTER

most totally neglected, the state of the Barking to Gospel Oak line has been of concern to passengers for some time. The collision last month ("Rail crash probe as 20 are hurt", 19 February) raises serious questions about the safety of the service.

The line is notorious for its unreliability as antiquated signalling or 34-year-old trains fail to take the strain. Stations are in an appalling state and bridges are crumbling. Despite all this, 4,000 people use the trains each weekday, because they can whisk people between North and East London in a fraction of the time it would take by car. British Rail admits the service could carry 50 per cent more passengers if it was upgraded.

The Waltham Forest Transport Action Group has calculated that £25m worth of investment could transform the service. This is just a tenth of the cost of the M11 link road that passes beneath the line.

Paul Dogan

Waltham Forest Transport Action Group

London E17