Richard Bowker's comments about the long-running campaign to reopen the Uckfield-Lewes railway (The Argus, June 25) cannot go unchallenged.

His no-can-do attitude just about sums up the oddly-named Strategic Rail Authority - remove a few letters and the more appropriate words "Static" and "Tragic" result.

Filling this glaring gap in the Sussex rail network is nothing like as expensive as Mr Bowker thinks.

Much of the basic infrastructure remains and as for expense - well, it's his organisation that seems to pluck figures out of the sky when it suits.

The unreal £100 million quoted for this project has never been scrutinised - nor the equally unreal £150 million quoted to electrify Uckfield to Hurst Green and Hastings to Ashford.

The Wealden Line Campaign has been fighting attitudes such as those displayed by the SRA for years. It has consistently put a strong, viable case for restoring this line, a case that stands on its own merits, let alone the "alternative route to the Sussex coast" scenario.

Mr Bowker seems unable or unwilling to look beyond "Uckfield-Lewes". The potential extends far beyond those seven miles.

To Brighton in one direction with all that city's work and leisure opportunities (a restored Uckfield-Lewes service has to aim at Brighton and it's perfectly feasible) and Croydon and London in the other.

Aggressive marketing with a good train service and low fares would see the job done.

And if those flying pigs steer clear a little longer, we might see the reopened line electrified and double track throughout.

As for improvements to the overloaded Brighton main line - one long bottleneck south of Three Bridges - just what does the SRA propose?

-Simon Stoddart, Hastings