I for one am very elated and optimistic about this latest attempt. Although in its present state the railway needs massive input to bring it up to date, the good news is most of its rolling stock is still intact, cheap, convenient, clean

I believe the railway should be an integral part of any country's transportation network system or infrastructure - because it is perhaps the cheapest, convenient and probably the cleanest way to travel in the world. The building of Highway 2000 shouldn't compromise the revitalisation of the railway, it should complement it - by taking a lot of pressure off the roadway, especially in transportation of heavy loads.

Properly run and managed, the railway could encourage people to use mass transit and could be a sightseeing asset for tourism as well as the locals, also for concerts and sporting events.

One of the improvements I would like to see happen is for a line to be run from the wharf to Kingston yard just like a line used to run from Kingston yard into the rear of the Coronation Market. This would be convenient to transport cars and probably containers in a very economical way. In the time of the railway, in addition to transporting bauxite, it efficiently transported the bulk of the country's agricultural products. And because of its various departments, employed hundreds of people throughout the country. Bringing back the railway won't be exactly cheap, but with energy prices escalating with no end in sight and the global warning from auto emissions - it could be a blessing.

I am, etc.,

NOEL MITCHELL
Nlmworld@yahoo.com

Westchester, New York