THE HSUK alternative (The Press, May 21 ) devised by Quentin Macdonald and Colin Elliff sounds a much more sensible proposition than the ruinous HS2, but it has one major drawback.

It is the idea of two railway experts, a railway civil engineer and a railway consultant, who actually know what they are talking about and work in the industry.

Such knowledge and expertise would never do for the office-bound, faceless, pen-pushing time-servers who occupy the positions of power in central government departments.

The hilarious TV programme Yes Minister is still as relevant today as it was in the 1980s. Never forget that central government and its departments are run primarily for the benefit of those who work there, and if there is any benefit for the rest of us, well, that is a bonus.

Geoff Robb, Hunters Close, Dunnington, York.