Regarding George Monbiot’s article (Broken-rail Britain: my journey to the heart of the nation’s privatisation nightmare, 12 January), anyone who commutes by train outside London will have gone through the five stages of grief. First, denial – that the train will be late or, even worse, cancelled, with the train app promising that it is still running. Anger – at the state of the country’s railway system, well over 150 years old and still not fit for your current journey. Bargaining – praying to the unknowable gods of the train timetables that some trains heading towards your destination will still be running. Depression – on hearing the dreaded words “Replacement bus service to…” and being crushed into a hire coach that still has the residue of yesterday’s primary school trip to the petting farm. And finally, acceptance – that neither the replacement bus nor your train will be arriving, and that you would be better off taking the next train and being late for work, for the second time this week. Matt Rice-Evans Coventry George Monbiot is writing about what all rail travellers know. The service is terrible. I don’t think I am the only person that avoids travelling by rail whenever possible. I suffer from spinal stenosis, which makes standing for any length of time difficult. That means I try to avoid any situation that can involve having to stand for long periods of time, which is to be expected on any train journey. Unfortunately, Westminster is not listening; it is as committed to privatisation as ever, with both major parties committed to further privatisation of the health service, albeit by stealth. The unrepresentative electoral system, which ensures the continuation of the current political duopoly, means that politicians need never fear being held accountable for the failures of privatisation. The “new corruption” has Westminster as firmly in its grip as the “old corruption” of the past, as demonstrated by the many politicians and civil servants who, on leaving Westminster and Whitehall, join the gravy train with a well-rewarded role in finance, the privatised industries or one of the many other quasi-governmental organisations. Derrick Joad Leeds The articles by George Monbiot and Gaby Hinsliff (The latest casualties of Britain’s rental crisis? Youthful joy – and the buzz and vibrancy of city life, 11 January) illustrate the fundamental purpose of a capitalist Britain – that the sole outcome of privatisation is to shift money, services and goods away from ordinary people into the ungrateful arms of the already rich. The most dramatic example of this today is, of course, the Post Office scandal, although taking money from innocent post office managers and then putting them in jail for it has proved a step too far even for the rightwing press. Nigel Gann Lichfield George Monbiot’s article illustrates well why the railways should not be left in private hands; their primary motive is profit, not public service. The same principle applies to healthcare and the administration of justice. The sooner the idea of selling off public services for profit is given up, the better off we will all be. Miland Joshi Birmingham