Madam, - It was like a breath of fresh air to read Brian Richardson's excellent article in your edition of February 11th proposing to link inter-city rail and international airline networks at Dublin Airport.
This is a much more sensible proposal than the vaunted Metro link that is so limited in its scope. It could also be the saviour of Irish Rail. One has only to look at how the Swiss, with a population little more than that of this island, have connected their national rail network to Zurich and Geneva airports. At Zurich, arriving passengers can board fast inter-city train to most cities in Switzerland or a suburban train to downtown Zurich.
There has been far too little intermodal planning as regards public transport in this country. The present Minister for Transport Seamus Brennan seems to be the first Transport Minister in a generation with a mind to challenge the narrow thinking of some of the semi-State transport bodies and agencies in his care.
If so, the Richardson plan may well prove to be an excellent starting point for the radical new thinking required to give Ireland the kind of public transport system needed in the 21st century. - Yours, etc.,
Howth,
Dublin 13.