WHILE no-one could argue with Alan Swan of Totteridge Avenue (Letters, Feb 15) that roads, particularly here in the south, are congested, inadequate and under-maintained, there is more than one cause and freight only represents a fraction of it.

As a devout Nimby who until now has happily lived with the railway line running just a matter of yards from the house, I have to say that the twice daily rubbish train gives us more than a taste of things to come should Central Railways get their way for a full freight service.

The fact is, much of the heavy traffic on our roads is actually for local destinations. The freight is only to be carried by rail to depots, where it will be dispersed to carry on by road. And I wouldn't want to live near the depots, either.

The railways are undoubtedly an excellent way of transporting anything and I would wholeheartedly agree with the principle of utilising them were it not for the fact that updating and maintaining our existing networks seems to be beyond the ability of the companies concerned.

I dread to think how Central Railway would cope once the expense of customising the rails, bridges, tunnels and depots was met.

Mr Swan presumably doesn't use our rail service for work. If he did, he would have thought of the commuter disruption, not for just a few months, but for years to come.

I resent people who are not likely to be affected by an innovation putting their two-pennyworth in with a blanket, self-righteous accusation that we only think of ourselves. We all think of our own wants and needs first because our own lives are what matter to us, and until something comes along to threaten that, we're mostly unaware of other people's problems.

It's not all about property value either. It is about quality of life. You try living with mile-long freight trains running past your house several times an hour. The promise of super-duper sound-absorbing tracks doesn't convince me, I'm afraid.

I'll think of the country, Mr Swan, when the country thinks of me. As for the children, they'll have to sort out their own problems, just like all generations do. With luck, they'll have some better ideas anyway.

One more observation. Do we really believe Central Railway wants to disrupt our lives for the good of the country? More like for the good of someone's bank-balance, I should think!

Nimby

Rosebery Avenue, High Wycombe