THIS week's Advertiser letters page features thoughts on a "pop-up" railway station for Rhu and Shandon, the UK's exit from the European Union and the importance of power of attorney.

To have your say on any local issue, just email editorial@helensburghadvertsier.co.uk with 'Letter' in the subject line of your message. Please provide your name and address, and also a daytime contact phone number in case we need to check any details at short notice, though this will not be printed.

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The Scottish Green Party hold the balance of power in the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. They support the minority SNP Government in the ongoing budget debate.

They have been rewarded with a £2 million fund to explore “pop up” stations at Rhu and Shandon. The notion is being promoted by Ross Greer, a Green list MSP for the West of Scotland.

This ridiculous idea is a waste of £2m in public money. There are serious problems on the railways of Scotland. “Pop up” stations at Rhu and Shandon don’t even make the short list. Mr Greer should go get a life and come back to politics when he understands how the world works.

There is a need for a flagship rail service between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley. At the moment the journey takes 55 minutes. Eight of these minutes are wasted making stops at Croy, Falkirk High, Polmont or Linlithgow. Every train makes stops at a combination of three of these stations.

The current trains are limited to a top speed of 100mph. This speed restriction could be removed and if priority was given to these express trains, the journey time could be cut to around 37 minutes.

At one time, the journey took 42 minutes. These changes would better the old record.

Scotland needs rapid transport between its two major cities – Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The M8 is a national disgrace. We need a three lane motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Large amounts of public money were wasted in the latest upgrade of the M8 which don’t address the major problems. Instead of elegant flyovers at the M8/M73/M74 interchange, the Transport Department gave us a roundabout.

Every vehicle has to come to a complete stop instead of continuing at the legal speed limit of 70mph. How green is that?

The new £1.35bn South Queensferry Crossing, built using foreign labour and Chinese steel, doesn’t work because of design faults in the access roads.

If it did work, it would destroy the rural nature of much of Fife, Kinross and Perthshire as the Edinburgh suburban sprawl would reach over the Forth to overwhelm the existing small communities.

Edinburgh needs to build upwards not northwards. Less commuting, less pollution. A green solution.

The landscape of Scotland is being destroyed by wind turbines, built with massive government subsidies on the green illusion that wind is free. Each of us is paying higher electricity bills to fund this green obsession.

Wind power is not a viable energy solution with today’s technology because electricity must be generated on demand. We cannot store electricity in any substantial quantity. For the same reason, electric cars are another green fantasy.

Richard Trail (Advertiser Comment, February 15) is correct to suggest that throwing more money at the NHS is not sustainable. There are massive inefficiencies in the NHS. None of the parties are the least bit interested in addressing this issue.

There is massive waste within Argyll and Bute Council, too. Again no party is interested in identifying the waste and eliminating it from the system.

It is time for change in our politics. The SNP government, with Green support, are failing in the job.

John Black, Woodhollow House, Helensburgh

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Re the proposal to re-open railway stations at Rhu and Shandon (Advertiser, February 15): I wish, as far as Shandon is concerned, to object strongly to this idea.

Firstly, the properties in Shandon, apart from those on Station Road, are hardly within easy short walking distances to the site of the old station especially if one is carrying luggage.

Therefore this would probably mean potential travellers driving their own cars to the station and leaving them there for the convenience of their return journey. Parking space is hardly at a premium.

Secondly, the access road from the A814 to the proposed site is single track and in a poor state. Hardly a suitable road for increased traffic.

Thirdly, as far as a station at Shandon being a convenience for MoD workers, to justify this there would have to be a vast number of workers using the station.

To walk from the station to the South Gate would take 10-15 minutes, not to mention the possibility of having to do so in the pouring rain. It’s therefore assumed MoD would lay on transport.

Including time taken to board passengers, the journey to the base would be around ten minutes and longer to the North Gte. Why go to all the expense, not to mention the disturbance and inconvenience to residents,by opening up a station at Shandon when there is a perfectly well established station at Garelochhead? The journey from Garelochhead to the Base would not take many minutes more.

Furthermore, assuming most MoD workers would be coming from the Glasgow direction, trains on the West Highland line do not run every half hour as they do Glasgow to Helensburgh.

Helensburgh to the base non-stop is a journey of only around 15 minutes. At present MoD workers, one would assume, choose to drive from their homes all over the area to the base for convenience.

It would be interesting to see how many of these workers would find it more convenient to catch a West Highland Line train to Shandon.

Finally, the previous and present builders and owners of properties on Station Road did not envisage it becoming a thoroughfare for railway passengers again.

The present road could not take heavy traffic. It was built in the horse and buggy era. We already suffer from noise from the gunnery range at the base on a regular basis and daily punishment of traffic to and from the Base would be hard to bear.

I just wonder if those who justify spending such a large sum of money on a feasibility study are even vaguely familiar with the proposed site and access.

Name and address supplied

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It would be no bad thing were exiting the customs union to lead to the re-introduction of the customs officer and his traditional stick of chalk which, in skilled hands, was a great discouragement to smuggling of illegal drugs and other contraband.

What concerns me is the distinct possibility that we could see the return of duty free sales of alcohol and tobacco to travellers.

Use of these harmful drugs is something that should be deprecated and Brexit should not be used as an excuse to promote their consumption and enrich their producers.

John Eoin Douglas, via email

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I was appalled to learn from the press that the Westminster Tory Government regards the people of Scotland as second class citizens by not allowing the Holyrood MSPs to have proper sight of their Brexit assessments.

I can’t help suspecting that the Tories have something to hide. They appear to be extremely muddled about just what they do want. I am under the impression that Labour are not very clear either.

When we have an established market with our near European neighbours, Brexit is like a bad dream. We do urgently need independence to save Scottish jobs.

Sue Swain, via email

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Figures showing a 40 per cent rise in the number of Scots being appointed Attorney in the last four years by Scottish Courts and Tribunals Services are encouraging. For years, many people have failed to grant power of attorney (PoA) because they’ve felt they’re ‘not ready to hand over control’.

That, however, is a misconception as power isn’t immediately handed over. Whilst a continuing (financial) PoA can be brought into play at any time, it doesn’t mean you are letting someone else take over control. You are simply making sure that the right people can step in and assist should the need arise.

Thankfully, more people are beginning to appreciate the benefits of having a PoA in place and are viewing it like an insurance policy – you hope you’ll never need it, but it’s there in the event should you ever become incapacitated for any reason.

I see many clients who come to me and instruct a power of attorney, having seen how difficult it can be to try to deal with their parents’ affairs without one – particularly if they have experience of the guardianship process (a court appointment where there is no power of attorney).

They see a power of attorney as a way for their children to avoid the same struggle they have gone through with their own parents.

Likewise, younger people should actively consider a PoA rather than waiting until they retire. While the majority are taken out by those older than 65, it ignores the fact that many younger people will have financial responsibilities that they, and potentially their families and business colleagues, depend on and need to be addressed in all eventualities.

Elspeth Paget (Head of Private Client, Gillespie Macandrew)