Driver disappointment after ‘hidden dips’ sign

http://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/apr/22/driver-disappointment-after-hidden-dips-sign

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The world’s first maglev train connected Birmingham airport to Birmingham International railway station and the NEC from 1984 to 1995. The trains were locally made, but neither the government nor industry showed interest in developing the concept. Japan now wants to sell its 600km/hour magnetic train worldwide (Japanese train hits 374mph to break rail record, 22 April). Why not drop HS2 and go to the next generation? The 15-minute journey from Euston to the Birmingham interchange would almost give time to read the letters page of the Guardian.Dr John DohertyStratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

• Nick Davies (Death of a dream, 22 April) reminds us what the US did to Vietnam. What it did in neighbouring Laos was just as bad. It spent $17m a day for nine years dropping bombs on Laos; that legacy still causes maiming and deaths every single day. The US contributes just $4,000 a day to ongoing clear-up operations and has never accepted responsibility.David GellnerAll Souls College, Oxford

• The £1bn that the NHS is in the red by (Report, 22 April) is exactly matched by the profits extracted by the private staff agencies for a service previously provided in-house.Karen FletcherNorth Anston, South Yorkshire

• If the British government won’t take action against property speculators in London, it is good to see that the Americans will (Trader who made $40m from London semi faces US charges, 22 April).Jo HowellSt Albans, Hertfordshire

• I’m always disappointed when I fail to find the hummus or taramasalata after seeing a road sign proclaiming “hidden dips” (Letters, 22 April).Geoff FordhamKelsale-cum-Carlton, Suffolk

• We should keep increasingly desperate politicians off the Rochdale to Manchester Victoria line lest they encounter the Mills Hill signal box Vitriol Works.Roger HillLittleborough, Lancashire