It was with disgust I read about the plans of the South East train-operating companies (TOCs) to change the conditions of the Network Card (The Argus, March 4).

I regularly use the card for short-distance leisure trips. With the minimum fare for using the card going up to £10, it will no longer be economical to use the train for leisure travel. It will cheaper to drive.

So, rather than saving the millions of pounds forecast by changing the network card conditions of use, the TOCs will instead lose hundreds of pounds I and many others spend on leisure and off-peak tickets.

I always understood the purpose of the card was to increase off-peak demand and encourage leisure travel. If the TOCs are seeking to reverse this, then making off-peak travel for many people more expensive is the way to go about it. I hope the TOCs will reconsider this short-sighted decision.

-Andrew Caswell-Russell, Gloucester Place, Littlehampton