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aaS owitaceo I was disappointed to find that Mr A. I. Watkinson's reply (CM April 1) to my letter contained nothing new. It is all very well saying that rail conversion into roads is a physical possibility and I do not dispute this. What I do maintain, however, is that the cost of conversion cannot generally be justified and this is really the crux of the conversion controversy.
He refers uncritically to the Hall and Smith publication Better Use of Rail Ways without recognising the serious lack of credible costing in their case studies. As an example, road surfacing of a railway would cost £5 a square metre according to their estimation. Yet civil engineers who have worked on such schemes affirm that the true cost is nearer £41 per square metre.
It is extraordinary that Mr Watkinson should find Better Use of Rail Ways (which he has read) "constructivewhile he finds Railways into Busways Won't Go (which he hasn't read) "negative' Perhaps this is a case of praising support for one's preconceptions and
damning any thoughts to the contrary, despite the evidence. J C. COOPER, Polytechnic of Central London .