Sir – Local residents are suffering disruption and at times physical isolation through the roadworks at the Wolvercote and Cutteslowe roundabouts.

It is hard to imagine significant harm is not being done to businesses in and around Oxford. Set against that backdrop the suggestion by the county council to resurrect the discredited Tin Hat Bypass suggests a staggering lack of joined-up thinking.

If the Tin Hat Bypass were built, the roundabouts at Wolvercote and Cutteslowe would be bypassed altogether. So what has been the point of the works at these two roundabouts? It is difficult to avoid the impression that the council acts before it thinks, maximising disruption for everyone.

After the Tin Hat Bypass was ditched, the Department for Transport finally admitted that it was part of an attempt to build a super highway between Felixstowe in the east and Fishguard in the west. Who wants Oxford to be in the middle of that?

I am also deeply sceptical about the value of turning the A40 between Witney and Oxford into a dual carriageway. Increasing the capacity of roads to carry more traffic never works, as anyone who has sat in the 10-lane car park of the M25 knows.

As a commuter to London on the Oxford Tube I know all it takes is a small accident or even just a breakdown to cause hours of delays. More Tarmac is not the answer. The opening of Oxford Parkway Station shines a bright light on this debate. I agree with Mr Fantato that the solution is to reopen the old GWR branch line between Oxford and Witney.

A look at a modern OS map reveals that most of the track bed still exists right up to the Witney bypass. A station like Oxford Parkway could be built next to the Witney bypass where commuters into Oxford could park their cars, with the possibility of another station at Eynsham.

One could go further. With a tunnel under the A34, the Witney line could be reconnected beside the golf course to the new line to Marylebone, just before Oxford Parkway Station. Again, there is most of an old track bed with a bridge over the canal to make that connection. Residents of Witney and Eynsham would then have a direct line to London, avoiding Oxford Station altogether.

The cost of these changes is bound to be significant, but rail is a far more efficient and environmentally responsible means of transporting people and goods than roads. Roads are also expensive and they are not the answer. The future is rail.

Adrian Sutton
Oxford