As an old Southern Railway company man employed for nearly 50 years, many of these with the Southern Railway, I can see Connex really will have a problem on its hands if it hopes to live up to this name.

One was truly proud to work for the Southern Railway before the Second World War. It was the most modern railway in the world, run by real railwaymen from the general manager down. Efficiency was second to none.

All the trains were right on time and it was an offence to run a train late. Stations were clean and manned all day by competent staff, even though we were still in the "mechanical" era.

I hope they will be successful because since the Tories privatised the railways again they have been a disaster in every respect.

I hope Sir George Young, who was in charge at the ministry at the time, is hanging his head in shame at the disaster that followed. I also hope the voters, when they go to the polls on June 7, will remember who privatised our railways and made such a mess of it.

It really has been a serious mistake and we old railwaymen are really upset to see the railways deteriorate so.

-V A Gander, Balcombe, West Sussex