Sir - In his letter of October 26, Marcus Lapthorn contrasts the proposed introduction of guided busways into Oxford and Cambridge.

In Cambridge, they aim to relieve chronic congestion along the A14. Instead of re-instating the largely extant parallel rail line to St Ives, a busway is being built for double the cost, which offers no time saving over their present unpopular buses, but will charge higher fares. This busway would not call at their science park, something a reopened rail line could do.

There are no examples of such long busways in Britain - those quoted by Mr Lapthorn are short in length.

Oxfordshire is well suited to a light-rail scheme between Witney and Oxford, which could also extend to the rapidly-expanding Carterton, largely following the former rail track. This would relieve the traffic on the A40. Such tramway systems are resoundingly supported by the Macdonald Report, and have proved extremely popular in other parts of Europe, as around Karlsruhe in Germany.

A rail route improves the connectivity with the neighbouring rail network, so unnecessarily lost in the Cambridge case, and could also divert more freight from the roads.

Guided busways are not the answer; indeed, they can easily become white elephants. In Melbourne, Australia, modern buses are now too wide to fit into their existing busway system!

David Eldridge, Secretary, Railfuture, Thames Valley Branch, Berinsfield