Sir – I cannot believe that plans to improve the rail link from Oxford to London via Bicester, and indeed, links to Milton Keynes and Bedford, are to be further delayed by a few bats in a short tunnel where trains already run (Report, November 17). Does the Department for Transport (DfT) have an environmentally sound transport policy at all? We shall go down in history as the people that spurned the refurbishment of our once-great railway network, closed down our rail manufacturing industry and its jobs, and denied future generations a most efficient form of public transport. All this in favour of more cars, even busier roads, and more air pollution!

In my opinion, the DfT indeed has a death wish for a cleaner environment.

David Eldridge, Berinsfield