REGARDING Hugh Jaeger’s letter, there is no absolute proof that new or enlarged roads increase traffic.

True that various studies have concluded that, but they are all based on statistics.

Invariably, statistics are interpreted to suit the requirement of the interpreter.

All studies that I have looked at are usually commissioned by the anti-road lobby or environmentalist groups who want to prove their points.

These often do not take into account the traffic they are removing from other roads and “rat runs”, which is a cause of the traffic being higher than predicted.

Maybe the predictions are wrong.

Can it be explained why traffic and consequent congestion in the Oxfordshire area has increased over the last two decades although no new major road construction has taken place in the same period, except for attempts to minimise localised congestion?

In his penultimate paragraph, he rubbishes the estimated cost of a Yarnton to Witney railway, comparing it to the cost of the Borders Railway.

It is not logical to compare costs of different projects without more detail.

He fails to mention the cost of the Oxford to Bicester section of the East-West Railway which was £320 million, and the predicted cost of the Bicester to Bedford section which is currently expected to be £748 million (again for 35 miles as the Borders Railway).

There is a short length of Railway in Manchester (the Ordnall Chord) which is costing £85 million for 300 metres!

If the cost per mile of the Borders Railway was used as an estimate for HS2, this would only be £1.4 billion (or double that as it will be twin track).

My point being that any project has to be estimated on its own merit according to many factors. Incidentally, the Borders Railway had a benefit cost ratio (BCR) of between 0.5 and 0.7 which is very low, and would normally preclude it from being built, whereas the predicted BCR for the East-West railway is 6.3 to 11.2, which makes it an attractive proposition, and should be progressed.

I should imagine, although I have no facts to prove or disprove it, that Oxford to Witney would be an extremely low BCR.

TREVOR DARKE Bampton, Oxfordshire