Sir, – As county councillor and transport spokesman for the town I have read recent letters from Wayne Tallon and J E Raven about bringing the railway back to Bordon with great interest.

Of course we had a very good railway (Longmoor Military Railway) until it was axed and much of the old route is still visible. You can find out more about the history of this on the Woolmer Forest Heritage Society website http://www.woolmerforest.org">www.woolmerforest.org

Philip Drury, myself and other local councillors have campaigned for ages to get the railway back to Bordon. Indeed many of believe that an Ecotown development of this size (4,000-5,300) could not possibly go ahead without some form of heavy or light rail solution.

Not so very long ago myself, the Mayor and a former town councillor attended a discussion with the government in Admiralty House around transport issues. It was a very useful discussion but imagine our horror when our previous set of EHDC consultants made no mention of the railway at all in their presentation to government. Needless to say we made a big fuss. Fortunately government Ecotown advisers agreed with us and told the council to put the railway back in to the plan.

The good news is that the government have now provided funding for a feasibility study to bring the railway back to Bordon. It is being conducted under the auspices of the county council. The line of the old railway through the town has also been safeguarded in the master plan.

It would be of major strategic benefit to link both Alton and Portsmouth rail lines back through the town.

The link North and West to Bentley Station (Alton Line) would be easier than going South to Liss (Portsmouth Line) simply because the old line south cuts across Woolmer and Longmoor which are now internationally protected for wildlife as Special Protected Area (SPAs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and SSSIs. There is also the question of  Liss Railway Walk Local Nature Reserve . Similarly, the route NW to Bentley Station would have to avoid the SSSI Butterfly Meadow. The important thing to remember is that county have a remit to look at any number of possible routes and will I am sure take all this into account.

Even if it is feasible in engineering and ecological terms, there is still the question of funding. If we do get the go-ahead we are told this not something that is likely to be built in the early phases of the project.

Despite being a similar size to Petersfield and Alton, Whitehill and Bordon already has the worst accessibility in the whole of Hampshire, not helped by recent bus cuts. We need public transport situation to improve now. The idea is to make the town a public transport hub, making connections with all the surrounding villages. This is also worth supporting but it must not become a substitute for rail.

Some believe that the railway is just a pipe dream, but whether its light or heavy rail, train or train-tram it is very clear that we must do everything we can to bring the railway back to Bordon.

If you share this vision I urge you to say so in our final master-plan consultation http://www.whitehillbordon.com">www.whitehillbordon.com. Final entries to be in by Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009

Adam Carew, County Councillor, Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford, Prospective MP East Hants,

Forest Road, Whitehill