I am delighted with Rowan Dore's report, "Network Rail charters helicopter to increase surveillance of rail network", (The Argus, August 17).

At public meetings of the now disbanded Southern England Region Rail Passengers' Committee attended by rail industry bosses I suggested

The British Transport Police Service have a national fleet of helicopters for fast response to rail network emergencies.

At that time I was laughed at. Some inaccessible rural track is patrolled by moto-cross bikes. Passenger and rail security is mainly funded by train operators, whereas national policing is funded by taxpayers with a democratic public input denied to rail passengers.

British Transport Police has approximately 2,500 officers but at any one time many are involved in paperwork or hours in court.

One helicopter chartered by the rail industry is a start as increasing vandalism and road traffic dangers are causing more accidents, especially at level crossings.

That's not to mention the threat of terrorism.

The British Transport Police do a gigantic job, from scraping bodies off the track to controlling station crowds and passenger crime. They are the salt of the Earth.

-John Stanaway. (member of Coastway Region Railfuture), Hove