David Gold believes that being spat in the face is less offensive than various forms of travelling discomfort.

He goes on to say the majority of railway employees are abusive in response to a polite inquiry. This is totally at odds with my own experience.

I frequently speak to the staff at Brighton station and have, without exception, been treated with courtesy.

I can only assume that Mr Gold's inquiries are not as polite as he makes out.

If this is the Mr Gold who wants to be a Member of Parliament then he will need to improve his people skills.

Tony Booker in the same edition compares today's rail travel experiences to those in the days of steam. In those days (as older travellers will remember) lengths of rail were joined to the next length with two fishplates and an expansion gap was allowed.

This gave rise to the "ter-ting ter-tang" rhythm of the wheels as they passed over the gaps, a sound which has now almost disappeared.

Many years ago British Rail decided to lay the present style of continuously welded track, thereby doing away with the old tried and tested expansion gaps.

Although this rail was supposed to be pre-stressed to allow for expansion, recent high temperatures have shown it cannot cope and there have been instances of the rails buckling.

While I do not propose a return to the traditional track, a compromise should be possible with shorter lengths of welded track and more frequent expansion gaps.

-Peter EH Bailey, Brighton