Francesca Barr (Letters, August 25) is an admirer of Britain's tramways.

So am I. But, apart from on Blackpool seafront, trams now exist only in museums. The systems in Manchester and Sheffield are not tramways in the traditional sense but are light railways.

Brighton abandoned its trams in 1939 and replaced them with a larger trolleybus system which, in my opinion, should never have been scrapped.

There is certainly a need to move large numbers of people rapidly into and out of Brighton and Hove, especially along the coastal corridor from Newhaven.

The answer to this problem and to other transport needs in the area is the proposed South Coast Metro. Putting trams back on to the streets of Brighton is a retrograde step and a recipe for more traffic congestion.

If Ms Barr wishes to enjoy the delights of Victorian transport, she should take a ride along Brighton seafront on Volk's Electric Railway.

However, she will need to hurry because the railway closes for the season on Sunday.

-Peter E H Bailey, Beaconsfield Villas, Brighton