RATHER than a waterbus between Southampton and Portsmouth (Daily Echo, April 10), improvements to the rail service would be much more logical.

The railway serves individual areas of both Southampton and Portsmouth - eliminating need for secondary travel arrangements.

The Echo report said that "there is next to zero maintenance infrastructure''. Might I draw your attention to the current squabble over who pays for the necessary, expensive, upgrade and repairs to the ferry landing stage at Gosport.

Support should rather be directed into road and rail services for isolated Gosport.

A rail link with Gosport would enable greater development of both business and domestic features of this town.

Gosport itself should be seen as the focus of commercial redevelopment and transport to that town upgraded rather than putting resources into an already congested Portsmouth.

MICHAEL KING (by e-mail).