The Reader: It’s time to shut and upgrade ‘the Misery Line’

I feel it is now time to lay my frustrations out about the appalling service that I, along with many thousands of other commuters, am regularly forced to endure when trying to travel to work on the District Line.

For years, this unreliable means of transport has run with delays, slowness and cancellations. Now, once again, trains are packed. Surely the best plan of action for Transport for London would be to shut what is now called “the Misery Line” completely for as long as it takes to upgrade the whole of this appalling service. A few months of inconvenience would be preferable to all these years of unreliability and high fares for a dreadful service.

Lyndsey Swern

Editor’s Reply

Dear Lyndsey,

I see from the TfL website this morning that the District line was again plagued by “severe delays”, due to signalling problems at Earl’s Court. The District is not a line I use often, but I have noticed that my “home” line, the Victoria, is not running as frequently as before the pandemic, despite TfL’s vow to run a full service. Ditto the Northern line. The opening of Crossrail next year will offer an alternative to the District for Ealing passengers. For those who face the daily crawl through Earl’s Court or Tower Hill, you have my sympathies.

Ross Lydall, City Hall Editor

State should take over energy firms

There is not a stronger case to be had for public ownership of our utilities than we are witnessing now with the crisis found in our energy companies. Instead of a bailout, the Government should look at public ownership as the way forward. This is a pragmatic way of dealing with this impending energy crisis. State ownership of these large energy firms will mean full democratic control of our national energy supply and a guarantee of supplies for the economy.

Oliver B. Steward

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