AS reported in the Bolton News, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin was in Farnworth to look at the new railway tunnel. He didn’t have much to say about the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ but the election is over now and so is all the 'Northern Powerhouse' talk, for talk is all it ever was.

What he did say was that "You are going to get a better service in your town” also “upgrading rail network and rolling stock, it is very important”.

Well Mr McLoughlin it certainly is very important but for your information in case you didn’t know, the railways started to be electrified in the south east in 1923 and by 1929 ran 17.8 million electric train miles.

The rolling stock for the upgraded rail network for this area will be old 319s from Thameslink while Thameslink will be getting new class 700 units.

Just about sums up the Westminster attitude to anywhere outside the south east.

The privatisation of the railways has been a failure for all but the fat cat money men.

The government now pay more money in subsidies to the private rail operators that they paid out for the state run railways. Outrageous.

Public transport should be for the benefit of the travelling public and defiantly not for profit.

Eric Hyland, Harwood