SIR – It was with great interest and not a little elation that I read Jack Blanchard’s article on trams. Most of the tram networks were withdrawn due to lack of investment after the private companies who started them were taken over by city councils which could see good profits with little outlay.

They ramped up the fares and fed nothing back in investment in the systems, which crumbled over the years.

Having travelled extensively on the tram networks of Brussels and Amsterdam, not to mention the Manchester network, I can vouch for the success of the tram as a means of quiet, reliable public transport.

The renaissance of the tram in this country is indeed a joy and not before time has the tram’s value as a mass transit medium been reassessed.

Anyone in doubt should travel to Manchester or Nottingham to see them in action.

MARK WILSON,

Worcester.