ALAN DENBIGH, of Wallingford Road, Kingsbridge, writes:

Gabby Prior's lament over experiencing our rail service 'in all its glory' seemed a little churlish bearing in mind that the worst storm for over 10 years had just taken out a large stretch of the rail track.

I've had my complaints about the greatcoated over-enthusiastic Great Western enforcers (buy me a pint and I can do a 10 minute rant about this), but on the last few occasions when extraneous circumstances have forced the dreaded 'bus replacement service' on us, they have coped pretty well.

The incident also makes the point better than any Parliamentary debate that, instead of HS2, the network needs some good basic reliable infrastructure, not trains hurtling between two major cities at the speed of sound.