Why aren’t our trains as good as this?

Last week my wife and I took a short break to Riga in Latvia. We decided on a day trip to the picturesque town of Sigulda, an hour and 40-minute train ride each way. I went to purchase two return tickets bearing in mind this was a weekday and for a particular visit, we needed to leave early.

The return tickets cost the grand total of 7.40 euros combined. This suggested a downmarket train, but in fact it was the opposite. There were five warm, beautifully upholstered carriages, with seats, armrests, and small pull-down tables. The carriage was spotlessly clean and left the station exactly on time. The journeys both ways were in heavy snow, but that was not a problem and we arrived on time. Our return journey was exactly the same.

On our return to Wales, we heard the tale from my brother of an old friend in his eighties who had just returned from Manchester on a two-carriage train you would normally expect on a local route. There were no seats for him on the outward or return journey, so at 84 years of age he stood all the way.

We are constantly told by ministers that privatisation is superior to nationalised. We are continually told that record amounts of investment have been made over recent years. The transport minister, generally regarded as one of the worst in memory, blames price rises on the unions, disregarding bonuses to managers and shareholders.

A recent radio interview with a Transport for Wales spokesman, when asked about the lack of trains at present, stated that they had to take over a lack of investment over 15 years by their predecessors. I have a number of questions.

When Arriva trains said they were constantly investing, was this incorrect? If they have been underinvesting why were the Government and the Assembly not checking up on this? Where has all the money gone, and should not Arriva be brought to book by our seemingly toothless governments in Westminster and Wales?

Finally, if the small country of Latvia can run a superlative railroad, why are we gullible enough in this country to listen to and accept these extortionate prices and service that clearly serves only the owners and shareholders.

Since Arriva seems to have got away with it, can we expect the same from Transport for Wales, or can we hope for more robust monitoring and handling from what appears to be two toothless governments?

Take a moment to consider that when you think of an 84-year-old man having to travel that distance for the eyewatering price of nearly £100. It could have been your relative.

No doubt the train provider will try to refer to a bank of excuses they trot out. Did he book a seat? When did he book it, that would affect the price? These are constant methods used by these organisations to cover over their lack of what should be regarded as a necessary service. Governments also will use similar tactics to offload responsibility.

May I suggest that all areas of the media tear into these people when they attempt these platitudes, I for one will be cheering you on.

Glyn Scott

Barry

Let’s recognise the other great women

Betty Campbell was a great choice for the outdoor public statue.

Having read the achievements of the other nominees wouldn’t it be fitting to recognise their contributions too, perhaps with head and shoulders busts?

I realise the funding could be difficult but it would be a shame not to recognise all these inspirational women now that their stories have reached a wider audience.

Brinley Groves

Marshfield, Newport

There are other bad leaders, Mr Gove

Michael Gove was devastatingly correct when he said Jeremy Corbyn is about the worst possible leader to lead the Labour Party, but now Michael Gove needs to look in the mirror and admit that Theresa May is also about the worst possible person to lead the Conservative Party.

Surely historians will label this stubborn and foolish woman the Betrayer of Britannia. A democratic vote by the public over two years ago resulted in telling the ruling elite that they clearly wanted to leave the EU – so why is Theresa May now pursuing “her deal” which nobody voted for?

It is shameful that she blames both Parliament and the EU for not fully supporting her deal – indeed, she should take on board that it is only a weak, inept and shameless captain that blames the crew when the ship strikes an iceberg.

At the next general election voters should seriously consider voting for Ukip, thereby giving a much deserved kick up the proverbial to our spineless and incompetent so-called representatives. There is absolutely nothing to lose and possibly everything to gain, if we all have the wit and courage to make this decision.

Dave Haskell

Cardigan

Ask Greece if the EU is a good thing...

Your correspondent I Seaton of Mumbles (WM letters, January 18) kindly brands those of us who voted to leave the European Union as “stupid” and “lazy”. Perhaps he/she should take off their rose-coloured spectacles and face a few facts.

The EU has not prevented any potential war in Europe. It has backed a fascist coup against a democratically-elected government in Ukraine and the new government, which subsequently bombarded those parts of the country opposed to the fascist takeover. (See Professor Sakwa’s excellent book “Frontline Ukraine” if you want detailed chapter and verse.)

The EU has championed the kind of global capitalism and associated austerity programme which your correspondent deplores, witness the way it has destroyed the Greek economy for the sake of German bankers (see Yanis Varoufakis’s masterly account in “And the Weak Suffer what they Must?”).

The free movement of goods and people the EU champions serves the interests of capitalists looking for cheap production and cheap labour, not the communities and nations of which Europe is composed.

Many remainers are now calling for a second referendum, calling it a people’s vote as though the first referendum didn’t involve people at all. What a record the EU has regarding referenda. Several countries before now have had to vote twice because they didn’t vote the right way first time round.

The EU only respects a referendum if it produces the result they want – witness their refusal to automatically allow Scotland to join if the Scots voted for independence. They even support the government of Spain which uses fascist methods to intimidate people in Catalonia and incarcerate their elected representatives for daring to organise a referendum on independence.

The people of Crimea, which was only transferred from Russia to Ukraine in living memory, were opposed to the fascist takeover of their country and held a referendum when, on a huge turnout, more than 90% asked to rejoin Russia. Yet this is branded as annexation by Russia. The EU joins Nato in “war games” on Russia’s border and many want to form an EU army – all deliberate acts more likely to provoke a war than stop one. The EU is symptomatic of the problems facing humanity and offers no hope for the future.

Emrys Roberts

Cardiff

We should support renewable energy

In the wake of Hitachi’s Wylfa Newydd project suspension many politicians across Wales have called for the UK Government to increase its funding offer. Yet energy secretary Greg Clark has already offered a one third equity stake (£4+bn), all the debt financing required, and a guaranteed £75/MWh electricity price for 35 years.

This compares with 2020s offshore wind prices of around £65/MWh guaranteed for only 15 years. This figure includes £ 7.50 / MWh for hydrogen-fuelled back-up capacity, electrolysers and balancing costs to ensure reliable, flexible supplies. No equity or debt financing subsidy is offered to renewables, which are safe and don’t create long-term waste and WMD proliferation risks.

So many politicians, disregarding due diligence, are calling for UK consumers and taxpayers to pay out at least £8bn over 35 years more than for renewables of equivalent and demand-responsive output. That subsidy could pay nearly 6,000 people £40,000 per year to do something for 35 years. So a Hitachi deal generating 850 direct nuclear jobs would be a spectacular net job-destruction scheme for decades.

Renewable energy schemes and their Grid-strengthening back-up systems don’t build themselves. A mix of renewables, predominantly offshore wind, would create just as many, if not more, construction and operational jobs per MWh generated. Granted that most of these jobs would not be concentrated on the tip of rural Anglesey but they could, and should, be dispersed across all economically deprived areas, including Anglesey, using regional growth deals.

Neil Crumpton

Representative for People Against Wylfa B on the BEIS-NGO nuclear Forum, Bethesda, Gwynedd