I was astonished to read Brian Wilkinson's letter (Feb) bemoaning the naming of a train after Barbara Castle and describing her as "an enemy of the railways".rnThere have been more than 30 Transport Ministers/Secretaries since Alfred Barnes nationalised the railways in 1947: most of them are barely remembered, many were totally ineffectual, a considerable number were unduly influenced by the road unions and road lobby. Of all of them, it seems to me that Mrs Castle was the most even-handed.rnMr Wilkinson claims she was responsible for the closure of 2,000 miles of line. According to Gourvish's 'British Railways 1948-1973', she approved the closure of 606 miles to passenger traffic. By comparison, her predecessors, Messrs Fraser and Marples, approved the closure of 819 and 1,436 miles respectively.
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