LIKE me, are other readers confused about York council's plans for suburban stations along the Scarborough line (Talks under way for suburb station plan, April 15)?

Fellow train enthusiasts will recall that the original plan was for a local service comprising of a sequence of stations (Strensall, Haxby, York Hospital) and a frequent shuttle service into York.

Unfortunately, the City Of York Council was not able to secure the necessary funds from the Government's Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) for this project.

Undaunted, the council hollowed out the plan to build a station at Haxby and run an hourly service only (i.e. just get existing train services to stop at Haxby). Despite having major new implications for Haxby (inter-city usage now being an additional target market), this new plan was submitted to the SRA recently.

Again, this second public funding request has been turned down. In what looks like "making it up as you go along", we now learn the council is approaching the private sector (via a tendering process) in order to invite companies to build a business case and subsequently a station at Haxby.

You get the impression that the council is so desperate to build something that looks like a local railway (but won't be one) that the project has become an end in itself.

It also seems reluctant to consult the people of Haxby about the wider implications of an inter-city station arriving in their midst.

David Farnsworth,

Old Orchard,

Haxby,

York.

...A NUMBER of practical questions do not appear to have been addressed by the Haxby station proposal.

The journey time from Haxby to York station on the last issued timetable was roughly 15 minutes; add on the time taken to get to Haxby station and the time from York station to the city centre, with all the inconvenience, and this seems less attractive.

The traffic hold up when Haxby gates are closed causes traffic to back up to the by-pass roundabout on many occasions, which has a cumulative effect on the ring road. If you increase this time by a station stop it will cause chaos.

Who will pay for the station now that the SRA has pulled out? Council tax? What are the cost of extra signalling and other rail costs? What will be the cost of parking at the station car park?

Remember almost all of Haxby and Wigginton are west of the railway and therefore some considerable distance.

JP Wheatley,

York Road,

Haxby.

...AS an ex-Haxby resident now living in Heworth, I read the letter from Tom Smith with interest (Letters, April 17).

A few years ago I attended our local parish council meeting. On the agenda was the amenities for young people.

A teenager complained that there was nowhere for them to use skate boards. I asked why the long-disused allotments could not be used for them plus a warden to safeguard the users.

A local councillor said that the land was protected by the allotments' users act. How can this present council skirt round that? Perhaps they should check the legislation.

Joy Crawshaw,

Hempland Avenue,

York.

Updated: 10:07 Tuesday, April 20, 2004