A midweek return journey to Cork

Sir, – A midweek return journey in June from Dublin to Cork by rail will cost the passenger €60 return, and will take a minimum of 2.5 hours.

The same journey from Dublin to London, Paris or Amsterdam by air will cost the passenger €43, €30, and €53 respectively, and will take roughly the same time, allowing for transfer to the city.

The seat reserved, and refreshments, may or may not be available on the rail journey, and anti-social passenger behaviour is a possibility.

As long as public transport remains such an unattractive option, it will take more than a “low fare” advertising campaign to persuade the travelling public to exercise responsible carbon expenditure on travel. – Yours, etc,