The Argus comment, "Hastings needs designs to halt decline" (January 28) will get nowhere until there is major investment and reconstruction of the disjointed shuttle service coastway railway between Southampton and Ashford International stations.

Hastings and neighbouring depressed resorts are suggesting a rail metro service on their section of the totally inadequate coastway railway.

Potential employers look for good transport links, especially to Europe, avoiding wasting time going up to congested London.

Few if any South Coast resorts now have useable goods yards, yet one freight train could take 50 juggernaughts off dangerous, gridlocked roads.

By no longer using trains, the Royal Mail is now putting hundreds of thousands of lorries on congested roads and providing a worse service.

When are the South Coast planners and politicians going to wake up the Transport Ministry and railway quangos (all in London offices) who seem to think Southern England needs only commuter lines to London?

-John Stanaway, Hove