WE must be charitable and assume that your well meaning correspondent, Councillor M C Dunlop ('Leave lorries on motorways', July 20), was joking when he showed favour for putting and keeping lorries on the roads.

Of course he may have been taken in by the propaganda of the anti-Central Railway lobby with their Luddite outlook. Maybe he does not understand that the Chiltern Line is probably the most under-used railway radiating from London. It is capable of taking several times the amount of traffic it does at present and reducing the chaos on our motorways.

The Central Railway proposal would achieve this and at the same time, by electrification, allow for quieter trains and the reduction of air pollution.

Modern railways are the logical mode of transport for long distance freight movements in this new century. They fit in with the philosophy of energy saving and the curtailment of global warming.

Advanced countries, including our continental neighbours, are aware of this. They are building new railways and upgrading existing ones to cater for 21st century requirements, passenger and freight.

Cllr Dunlop seemingly advocates the primitive idea of transporting heavy goods under the control of a single fallible driver with his fume belching machine causing obstruction, frustration and danger to other road users.

I would suggest that he, and the others sharing his outlook, should study the proposals of Central Railway more thoroughly and support the efforts to bring this country's transport system up to European standards.

Alastair M Dyer

Holtspur Top Lane

Beaconsfield