IT looks as though international alchemists have discovered the elixir of life.

Fact one: most rural railways are losing so much money the Department for Transport wants to close them down.

Fact two: the York-Beverley axis presently supports no more than an hourly bus service with generally poor loadings.

Fact three: £183 million (at least) for the capital cost of reopening the railway is an awful lot of money.

Fact four: without draconian road-pricing or a huge hike in petrol prices a half-hourly train service could not possibly attract the minimum twenty-fold increase in passengers needed to cover its costs or to be more environmentally friendly than a bus.

Fact five: there is a zero possibility of funding, public or private, for this project.

Conclusion: the claim that the line would be "economically viable" is fraudulent (June 22), and the Government agencies that have paid for this report should be charged with maladministration for wasting public funds supporting the fantasies of a few "railway buffs".

For a fraction of the cost let us give buses absolute priority on the roads and the chance to show their paces: it worked whisking the nobs and nabobs from York Station to Knavesmire last week.

Jonathan Tyler,

Passenger Transport Networks,

Stonegate, York.

Updated: 10:53 Saturday, June 25, 2005