Letter: On wrong track

Your report on First ScotRail trains (27 January) highlights how far behind mainland Europe we have fallen. We operate the worst long-distance rolling stock in Europe, with passengers on what should be the premier Glasgow-Aberdeen line crowded into suburban trains, and those on West Highland lines stuffed into the cheapest, nastiest trains.

West Highland trains, laughably named Super Sprinters, were antiques of the future when first used two decades ago. One of the internal doors was removed some years ago in order to create cycle space left out of the original design. Following the Loch Awe accident last June, the only remaining internal door has been removed.

The result is that draughts blow along the train in motion, and at stations, cold air rushes into the train. First ScotRail says the first internal door was removed and not replaced "because no-one complained"; and that the second door was removed after Loch Awe "for safety reasons".

Gordon Casely

Hill Street

Aberdeen