The fact the rail infrastructure has served us for 170 years is testament to the vision and engineering capability of the Victorian civil engineers who overcame the difficulties they faced in constructing the bridges, cuttings, embankments and viaducts required in order to build the Brighton main line (Letters, August 24).

However, much of the original infrastructure was stripped out in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts, which effectively removed the main diversionary routes available at that time – resulting in severe disruption when signalling equipment or trains break down on the two track sections or at weekends when engineering works are carried out It is true that in order to four-track the southern section of the Brighton main-line four new tunnels (Balcombe, Folly Hill, Clayton and Patcham) and two new viaducts (Ouse Valley and Vale) would be required, as well as numerous embankments and cuttings.

However, we do have the advantage of modern equipment and none of these present any significant challenge to the engineers or contractors who would be involved in constructing the new railway.

For the last 40 years, money has been poured into the road system: Yet the traffic expands to meet and then overwhelm the available capacity with congestion and pollution and does not provide us with a sustainable form of transport.

Similar investment in our rail infrastructure would provide us with a far better solution to our problems and allow us to take advantage of the many exciting prospects and new opportunities opened up by the vast investment already taking place at Blackfriars and London Bridge as part of the Thameslink programme.

We need to look at the bigger picture – incremental improvements to the UK rail infrastructure will ultimately offer a faster, less congested railway system that will entice people back on to the railway and away from the increasingly congested road network.

Journey times and capacity on the route between Brighton and the capital is only part of the picture – we need to be able to reduce the total travel time between the South Coast and cities such as Birmingham.

We simply cannot afford not to invest in a railway that is fit for the 21st Century – four tracking the southern section of the Brighton main line should only be part of a much bigger programme of investment in the Southern region offering enhanced local travel as well as improved capacity for commuters on their daily journey to Victoria and London Bridge.

Anthony Baker
The Green, Southwick