Letter: On wrong track

HOW much attention to Scotland's ailing train quality will First Minister Alex Salmond give when he announces transport investments today?

It cannot be said often enough that we in Scotland possess the unenviable record of having the poorest-quality long-distance trains in Europe… and nobody seems to care - certainly not First ScotRail as operator, nor Transport Scotland as manager, nor the Scottish Government as ultimate buck-catcher.

It's time to right a major wrong. For how many more years must we long-distance travellers sit crammed into suburban stock on premier routes such as Aberdeen to Glasgow and Edinburgh? Which other nation would tolerate it?

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And these are the "best" of the First ScotRail fleet. For real pogosticks of public transport, Mr Salmond ought to try the 158s that run between Aberdeen and Inverness, or the simply appalling SuperSprinters serving Mallaig and Oban.

In travels across the world, I've noticed that quality of railways says a great deal for national aspiration. Applying this yardstick, Scotland has a mountain to climb in the aspiration stakes.

Gordon Casely

Hill Street,

Aberdeen