LAST Wednesday I travelled on the 9.58am from Poole when, just past Hamworthy, the train stopped due to a tree fallen right across the line.

It returned to Hamworthy to wait for a team to saw up and remove the tree.

Carriage doors were opened to enable passengers to access the platform for fresh air before electric power was cut off for safety reasons.

After about an hour we were taken as far as Wareham but naturally trains had to be re-directed back and forth both sides of the blockage site to be in place for returning to normal timings so we were waiting almost another hour for one to go on to

Dorchester.

During all this, the guard passed up and down, liaising with the driver, checking on progress outside and keeping us fully informed at every stage.

Other passengers and I agreed that this really confirmed our belief in the need to retain guards on trains.

SYBIL BROWN

South Court Avenue,

Dorchester