Letter: Fares fair

Sir: I am writing in response to the article about the British Rail sell-off ("Few takers for rail sell-off", 23 October). The Japanese government sold its railway system to a private company several years ago; since then, its service has improved and has started to be more on time. Now trains have a restaurant and better service; they have even put a sauna on the train.

When selling a railway system, we take the risk of the fares being raised, but I would prefer to have a comfortable service that is on time, rather than paying less and getting less, especially when I travel long distance.

Yours faithfully,

Nobuto Sakamoto

Osaka, Japan

25 October