RECENT flooding of the East Coast Main Line, in particular north of Darlington, caused untold misery for rail travellers (Echo, Nov 27). Network Rail and the train operators resorted to replacement buses.

This would have been unheard of when we had a railway that was second-to-none.

I refer to when trains were diverted via Stillington and the old main line known as the Leamside route.

Network Rail is currently lifting the track. Some of it is going to be re-laid on the reinstated Edinburgh to Galashiels route, formerly known as the Waverley line.

Both Stillington, which is still open, and Leamside, which has remained intact since closure in May 1991, should have been electrified when the East Coast Main Line was upgraded 21 years ago.

This kind of short-sighted transport policy would not have been allowed on the continent.

Instead these key diversionary routes were forgotten and closed.

Partly as a result, road traffic has trebled since.

Another good example would be the Durham to Bishop Auckland line, which closed in 1964. The population in Bishop would have found the railway a godsend nowadays.

S Shields, retired operations manager, British Railway Saltburn