Well said A V Martin on the recalcitrant rail unions causing the mess the railways are in today (Is cash for rail network a priority?, Letters, January 8).

Just think of how much money the fat cats would have enjoyed without these pesky unions.

I would have still been on £20 per week 25 years later, £100,000 would not have been spent on a dedicated blue asbestos building to protect workers’ lives and thousands of pounds would have been saved from not forcing the company to supply proper ear defenders.

Our rail passes wouldn’t have grown, and when the Tories privatised the carriageworks we would not have received a half decent redundancy payment.

As to the many hours our reader has spent waiting for trains: the unions sticking up for worthless train guards would not have happened, causing even more profits to find their way to Deutsche Bahn via Northern Rail and Arriva.

Unions are also responsible for failing to measure new foreign rolling stock, which is too long for some platforms.

I also agree with Julian Sturdy, who opposed renationalised railways (Is it time to renationalise our railways?, January 7). Yes, who wants profits going to Government coffers when we can keep sending profits from 80 per cent of our European-owned rail franchises overseas?

William Moore,

Lochrin Place, York