Sir – The letter on November 11 from Paul Withrington, of Transport Watch, concerning Chiltern Railways’ planned new rail link to London contains a number of inaccuracies.

Amongst other things, Mr Withrington complains that Chiltern Railways receives a subsidy from the taxpayer. This is not true — we are paying a premium to the Government. As to his claim that a new motorway would cost £12m a mile, in 2005 the Department for Transport stated that motorways cost £23-28m a mile; with a cost of less than half that, our rail project is a bargain in comparison.

Mr Withrington’s allegations that rail is less safe than road — when Government statistics make it very clear that travelling by rail is far safer than by any other form of road transport — and that rail is less ‘green’ are equally misleading.

Mr Withrington’s Transport Watch website makes it clear that he believes that railway lines should be converted into roads. He is, of course, entitled to his view.

However, I suspect that few local people would wish to see the Bicester-Oxford railway concreted over to create another fume-filled traffic jam. The best use of a railway line is to run a safe, welcoming and reliable train service — and that is what we intend to do.

Graham Cross, Business development director, Chiltern Railways