Their trains are better, too.PROFESSOR GERALD ELLIOTTOXFORDSir: I looked up the train journey from Hamburg to Poznan on the German railways website ( ) and was able to download a timetable in seconds. I also found that Poznan has a regular steam train service.I was on holiday in the Czech Republic last month and was able to plan a train and a walking tour in less than five minutes by searching on the web.MARGARET BEITHGUILDEN SUTTON, CHESHIRE Inquiry needed into union elections Sir: Barrie Clement's report (23 May) on alleged irregularities in the 2003 elections for the GMB general secretary is disturbing. My May 2005 edition shows daily direct trains from Brussels Midi/Zuid to Poznan, leaving in the late afternoon (16.20 or 18.16, depending on the day) and arriving the following morning. Eurostar provides a direct, though expensive, train from Waterloo to the Midi station.At Midi there is a very helpful English-speaking ticket office which would have been delighted to sell cheap intercity tickets to Poznan. Luckily, though, our Continental cousins are cleverer than us in this respect. I recommend the Inter-rail pass, though if, like me, one is over a certain age a Carte Senior may prove cheaper.Most of this information used to be available from the British Rail office in Oxford in the heady days before the Tories sold our railways to their friends. These special habitats and the wildlife they support cannot be replaced by any amount of open water.While rising household water demand may mean that new resources are developed, the high cost of reservoir construction must also be considered.
An animal is at its most dangerous when wounded!BARRIE DRAPERAXMINSTER, DEVON Save water and protect our rivers Sir: A belief that a major reservoir-building programme would deliver substantial environmental benefits is na? and ignores very real impacts ("We should build more reservoirs to help ease water shortages", letter, 7 June 2005). We already have reservoirs - lots of them - half empty ones, and getting emptier by the day.JEREMY BRIDGESBOSHAM, WEST SUSSEX Travelling by train the Continental way Sir: Marian Podlubny (letter, 6 June), who found it impossible to book a rail ticket to Poznan by telephone, should have purchased a copy of the European Rail Timetable, published by Thomas Cook. The regulation of rivers to feed reservoirs can destroy headwaters and damage floodplain wetlands. Jan-Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, has spoken in a similar vein.Those of your readers who, like me, wish to see the United Kingdom leave the European Union at the earliest possible time and return to being a proud, independent and self-governing nation, should be careful not to drop their guard. The Prime Minister should learn from this and prepare for an EU presidency which can make a constructive start to rebuilding and remotivating an institution which is regarded by many in all parts of the world as a model for regional co-operation and peace.TERRY BISHOPDEAL, KENTSir: For all of your readers who are getting excited about France and Holland rejecting the European constitution in their referendums, may I remind them that both Blair and Straw have already signed the treaty accepting the constitution as plenipotentiaries on behalf of the Queen and her subjects.Your readers must also have seen the comments from Chancellor Schr?, who has said that the ratification process of the treaty should continue. The Dutch were not being asked whether the euro is a good thing or tougher immigration rules should be imposed. Yet those issues seem more than others to have motivated rejection.
What the two peoples had in common was non-engagement with the European venture and that view was strengthened by the inter-governmental nature of the text and the failure to push for greater democratic accountability.Now the Government here appears to be saying that the British along with the Danes, Czechs and so on should not be permitted a voice at all. What a perfect example of the arrogance of a political establishment which elsewhere has led to the kind of vote we have just seen.The results in France and the Netherlands are depressing and damaging but the blame can easily be placed on political elites out of touch with their electorates. Can you think of a better way of tagging 24 million people? Couple this with ID cards and we are being hit by the biggest assault on civil freedom in modern times.STEPHEN JACKSONBEXHILL ON SEA, EAST SUSSEX Elites must listen to the voters of Europe Sir: As someone who offers lukewarm support for the EU's constitutional treaty I am dismayed by the apparent reasons for its rejection by the French and Dutch.The French were not being asked whether Chirac should continue as President or whether particular economic and social models should be adopted. Instead of constructing a fully integrated national transport system, motorists are being singled out for punishment for going about their lawful business.But let's not take our eye off the ball. Unfortunately this would also make it impossible to bicycle anywhere.CHRIS BELLBRISTOLSir: The proposed satellite tracking of motorists is characteristically New Labour: crude, compulsory, lazy and sinister. It is very difficult to avoid paying either fee, since each is levied in advance.If Mr Darling's scheme comes to pass, I foresee the criminalisation of vast numbers of people who, when the mileage-tax bill arrives, either cannot or will not pay it, to say nothing of the possibilities for disputing its accuracy either for genuine cause (anyone who thinks there will be no billing errors must be silly) or frivolously.Furthermore, these bills will need to be of enormous size in order to give an itemised account to every motorist. Where it is needed to avoid excessive congestion, road pricing is a better instrument than the current mix of vehicle excise and fuel duties.SIR CHRISTOPHER FOSTERLONDON W11Sir: A major difficulty with the mileage tax scheme is the collection of the money.At present, motorists pay an annual fee to keep a vehicle on the road and have to display proof on the vehicle that it has been paid for, and whenever they buy fuel they pay a fee for their use of the roads over the distance that fuel will take them.
