Why does our public transport fail just because of heat or snow? - Yorkshire Post Letters

Has anybody a clue as to why this failing country becomes so inept and dysfunctional at the slightest excuse?

Public transport utterly fails if we have snow and ice in winter, six millimetres of snow makes the entire network grind to a halt, and yet I can travel in Moscow, Winnipeg or Helsinki, or indeed anywhere in central Europe and central Asia and the system copes with half a metre of the stuff.

Now we find that UK runways melt and UK roads melt, Delhi airport was fully operational at 49C, you don’t hear of Dubai or Mumbai airports closing because its warm.

Indian railways are designed to operate quite normally into the upper 40s, ours cease because it gets to 28C and that of course is contrary to ours closing because there’s wet leaves on the track in autumn. The wonderful Delhi Metro has been open 20 years, clean, air conditioned, cheap, never had any heat-related issues – compare that to the dire antiquated pile of rubbish in our capital. Unimaginable on a day like today in London.

Although I have little personal experience of Africa I understand Nigeria as a country functions efficiently with no heat-related problems in regular 35 to 40 temperatures and 36 per cent of homes have air conditioning.

So, how is it possible for people to travel to semi-tropical, or indeed tropical locations for holidays and lay around in sun at 40C at little risk, and yet we are inundated with ‘warnings’ by the nanny state to stay at home and not venture out at a few degrees above normal?