ES Views: Mobile phone calls on the Tube will be a nightmare

With regard to bringing 4G network to the Tube, does the Mayor really want to wreck the most civilised Underground in the world, catering for the most diverse bunch of passengers [August 10]?

It is only recently that yelling into mobile phones for entire journeys has lessened on the buses, mainly due to passenger disapproval. Now imagine 20 or 30 people in a Tube carriage talking into their phones for entire journeys. We will lose that relaxed, quiet comfort we get — aside from during the rush hour.

It is great to see so many people sitting on upholstered seats, perusing this paper, reading from the same hymn sheets.

Others read novels, some have a chat or try to go to sleep while others listen to music. Yes, the trains sometimes screech and rattle, and the announcements can be annoying, but mainly it is a peaceful experience.

Enabling people to use their phones for calls will destroy this culture completely.
Wenda Clenaghen

About a month ago I was stranded on the Tube on a train between Temple and Embankment station in a pitch-back tunnel.

For about an hour I had no signal on my phone, no way of contacting my boss that I was quite obviously going to be late, and no way of getting off the train.

Just like every new policy, there will always be opponents, and in the case of phones having 4G signal on Underground trains, it will inevitably mean more people being able to make calls and therefore producing more noise.

But tourists and Londoners often complain that, for the high cost of tickets, London Underground’s network should have a phone signal like so many other countries — and I am inclined to agree with them.
Katy Williams

Almost all the phone calls I hear on buses are utterly unnecessary, and the inane ramblings that go on for a whole journey drive me wild — and probably most of the other passengers too.

No one is so indispensable as to be needed for the 10 or 20 minutes they spend on a Tube in central London. There is already wi-fi at most stations, even if the connectivity can be iffy in my experience. The Tube is noisy enough as it is.
David Reed

Is there no escape from mobile phones? It is unlikely that there will be many urgent calls made, and this is more likely to produce chat either side of you. Given that most people seem to regard their phones as megaphones, it will be a nightmare.

We have managed all these years to be free of phones. Perhaps, for the sake of sanity, at least one carriage could be mobile-free?
James Horne

Let's get rid of all nuclear weapons

Karin von Hippel gives us a frightening yet accurate insight into the dangers of the nuclear confrontation between the United States and North Korea [Comment, August 10]. But she fails to mention an important point.

Since 1968, when the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty was signed, the US, like Britain, has been legally committed to work “in good faith” for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. Yet these two countries show no interest in getting rid of their own. Indeed, we are spending at least £205 billion on renewing Trident. No wonder the North Koreans are not impressed.

It is to be hoped that both nations will come to see that nuclear weapons only mean more insecurity in the world. It is time to get rid of the lot and spend the millions saved on the real needs of humanity.
Bruce Kent

A way to stop hard border with Ireland

The question of an Irish border is complicated. A hard border opens up again the smuggling business, and no one wants it. The DUP will not have an internal UK border and, given its crucial role in keeping the Tory party in government, if they don’t want it then it won’t happen.

But perhaps there’s a simple solution. Let there be no border and let goods and people flow freely as now. If the UK plan works and trade deals are effected with the US, Australia and India, it can benefit Ireland.
Dr George Maher

Google gender row was misinterpreted

Ayesha Hazarika’s column describes “an angry bloke at Google who has railed against gender equality in the most manly way possible — a huffy internal anonymous memo” [Comment, August 8].

She obviously hadn’t read the news stories, which made it clear that far from being anonymous, the author was an engineer called James Damore. She also hadn’t read the memo, even though it is widely available online. He wasn’t railing against gender equality.
Julia Spira

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Heathrow expansion has majority support

I read with interest the Reverend Andrew McCluskey’s letter about “the strength of opposition” to a new runway at Heathrow [Letters, August 9].

It is worth recalling that polls have consistently stated that more local people support expansion than oppose it. More than 70 per cent of MPs (cross-party) believe the years of shilly-shallying needs to end and the Government has confirmed that there will be a vote on expansion in the first half of 2018.

Beyond the economic case for an additional 77,000 local jobs and the eradication of youth unemployment in the area, we should remember that as aircraft technology has improved, planes are getting cleaner and quieter all the time.

Environmentalists are getting on board with Heathrow expansion. The former executive director of Friends of the Earth, Tony Juniper, is now working on the project to ensure we can have a bigger, better, quieter and greener airport.
Parmjit Dhanda, executive director, Back Heathrow

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Spurs players are paid enough

Tottenham defender Danny Rose says he was unhappy with the wage structure at the club. I take it he has continued to draw his wages while on the sidelines, while many people do not get paid for time off from work.

Rose believes players at Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United earn more than him but these clubs have been more successful over recent years and can therefore afford it. I would hate to see Rose leave or indeed any more of our first-team players, but if they are not committed to the club’s long-term plan, maybe it’s best they leave.

Spurs do have a rigid pay structure but many of our star players have had several increases over the past year and are very well paid. Once the new stadium is completed, I am certain the wage structure will be adjusted. Some patience, faith and loyalty, I think, is required.
Paul Casey

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