THE report on ‘little used’ railway stations in the North-East (Echo, July 26) was depressingly negative.

On the Esk Valley line at least, all the ‘stations’ are in fact unstaffed halts, rather like bus stops, and are mostly maintained by volunteers from the Esk Valley Community Rail Partnership.

Apart from lighting, there is therefore almost no cost involved and we would oppose closure. The halts provide the only form of public transport for the villages they serve, as well as access to the National Park, because there are no bus services.

Much more relevant to the proposed new franchise to which you refer is the fact that, despite there being only four trains a day, promotion by the Partnership has already grown ridership by 25 per cent to almost half a million a year.

Official figures show that, on average, 115 people – two double decker bus loads – now use each train between Whitby and Middlesbrough every day.

And that figure is set to increase substantially with the recent opening of the new station serving James Cook Hospital.

The Partnership is pressing for a new morning commuter service from Whitby to Middlesbrough, a later evening return service (the present ‘last train’ is at 5.40pm) and a year-round Sunday service, for which there is now a clear demand.

This line is growing. But it now needs investment, not subsidy.

Alan Williams, Esk Valley Community Rail Partnership, Staintondale.