Last week I had an experience that would convince even the hardest public transport advocate to drive. I was scheduled to catch the 13.55 express service from Maitland to Sydney.

When I arrived at the station, the look on other passengers' faces showed that they were clearly distressed from the stifling heat. Unfortunately, our train was delayed five minutes, I believe because the ARTC had the audacity to give priority to a coal train.

Though the delay was only minor, it snowballed as we fell behind slower services the closer we got to Sydney. Consequently, we arrived at our destination 45 minutes late; all because a coal train could not be delayed.

It is my belief that in our car and mining culture, there is a blasé attitude towards rail users, leading to many delays that could otherwise be avoided. I believe there are personnel within Transport for NSW that need to be taken to a city where these delays are unacceptable like Tokyo or Zurich to learn how a real railway is operated.

CARL Stevenson (Letters, 3/2) laments that the letters published in this paper with political bias show hatred to the other political views and are from the minority rabble. Carl also states we should trust those in authority and government because they represent the will of the majority.

Sorry Carl, but you are wrong. The percentage of first preference votes in the last election for the Liberal/National Coalition was 41.44 per cent.

As voting is compulsory this does not represent a majority of Australians. In fact 58.56 per cent, the real majority, voted for Labor, Greens, Pauline Hanson and independents. The LNP government got the nod in the stupid two-party preferred system that operates in this country.

So Carl, you see the so called minority rabble are actually the majority rabble. You and the government who have shown they are incapable of providing funding for all Australian, irrespective of who they vote for, need to understand this.

THE PM and Treasurer have both recently stated that coal is worth $70 billion to the Australian economy. However, the latest data from the Minerals Council (2018) only shows total revenue of $60.4 billion ($22.6 billion - thermal and $37.8 billion - metallurgical).

I believe most of this revenue does not stick in the Australian economy as it disappears overseas into foreign companies and tax havens.

We are largely left with what is paid in direct wages and cost of materials with royalties paid being largely offset by subsidies.

I found, in a publication entitled "2018 Sector Competitiveness Plan Update" on the government's National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) website, that the actual contribution to GDP for all coal in 2018 was $20.5 billion.

From the Minerals Council data thermal coal would proportionately have contributed $7.7 billion. This means thermal coal represents only 0.4 per cent of Australia's GDP.

Our government (and some commentators) dismiss our country's 1.3 per cent contribution to global emissions as insignificant and state that removing them would have no impact at all.

Following that logic, we can see that removing thermal coal exports, at less than a third of that percentage, would have even less than no impact.

PUTTING to one side the keyboard trolls that make light of the seriousness of what Australia has been facing lately and go delving back through the annals of time looking for a day that was as hot or a fire that was worse, I don't think it would be a stretch to say that the last few years will be recalled in the future as a very extraordinary difficult time.

We have had a merciless drought lasting for years with the odd flood and horrendous fire storms thrown in and topped off now with a global virus threat. Under such conditions a country's true colours are brought to bear. The devastation and diversity has highlighted a few things about us as a nation, the Australian public as a society and the individual have a resilience, compassion and courage that I believe has earned the respect of the rest of the world, but it also has shown the damage that is done to land and people by incompetent governments who clearly aren't up to the job.

I THINK Bjorn Sturmberg painted a misleading picture of power stations during hot weather ('A new electricity grid for a new climate era', Newcastle Herald, 3/2).

The transmission system suffers the most on days of extreme heat.

The system can drop to two-thirds capacity on very hot days while thermal power stations can generate up to full capacity as long as cooling water temperature is at an adequate temperature.

If cooling water temperature should rise turbine output is reduced to maintain adequate vacuum in the condensers.

Heat stress has no effect on boilers which use heat to convert water to steam.

Heat stress has no effect on steam turbines which are driven by 500 degree Celsius high-pressure superheated steam.

Hydro-electric generating plants are largely immune to hot weather and can continue in operation as long as there is adequate water in the dams.

IF the government would make two simple additions to cars compulsory, I believe many lives could be saved and I think the recent terrible tragedy of four young lives lost walking down street could have been prevented.

Firstly, car ignition systems should be disabled automatically until all passengers in a car have their seat belts fastened.

Secondly car ignition systems should not be enabled until the drivers breathed into a breathalyser mounted in the centre of the steering wheel.

Only when the driver passed that test, would the car's ignition system be enabled.

With all passengers "belted up", none of the passengers could lean over and do the breathalyser test, only the driver would be in a position to do so.

Since successive governments have allowed Australia to lose its car manufacturing industry these compulsory requirements would have to be imposed on all car imports.

FOR the sake of the Australian public, people who have been to China should either be placed in quarantine or refused entry during this possible pandemic. Yes it's unfortunate that kids will be obviously put out and their social and scholastic worlds will be placed on hold during this time, but the consequences resulting from inaction could have more serious outcomes. Also we often see visitors from overseas bringing in food items in their luggage and our border security do their best to prevent this occurring, but even after these travellers lie and ignore the rules set down on disembarking questionnaires, most are often get a rap on the hand. Our laws are too soft, that's why we find our country constantly under threat. Our federal government needs to grab the bull by the horns to protect its citizens.

JEFF Corbett, you forgot Australian society's number 1 uncivilised behaviour ('Civilised shaming game', Newcastle Herald, 1/2); men urinating in public, though perhaps no full length photos please.

IN REPLY to Susie Johnson (Short Takes, 3/2): How short a memory people have when it suits them. Do you recall Ros Kelly, a member of the Keating government, resigned over the "whiteboard" fiasco? Giving money to Labor held seats. Did that pass the "pub test"? Did Keating resign? No. In case you forgot, Labor lost the election eight months ago and with Albo at the helm. Don't hold your breath for future elections. Over 600 sporting clubs received funds which I'm sure were appreciated. Get over it.

HAVING just watched Monday's Q&A on iView, I think the marketing guy should forget about his generals, his advisers, his media announcements and just talk to Andrew Constance. I now know why Senator Jim was placed in an unwinnable position on his party's ticket at the last election.

IN regards to the Topics photo ('The good old days caught on camera', Herald, 4/2) isn't it great that most early photos of Newcastle, apart from showing Holdens and Fords (which were the go-to cars of the time) there are almost always the silent achiever, the VW Beetle complementing the picture. Warms the heart of a Beetle fan.

IMAGINE a female politician named, for instance, Barbara Joyce leaving her husband and four kids for the hired help and then having two more children. Would she be a candidate for deputy prime minister ('McCormack triumphs over Joyce in spill', Herald 5/2) or have been pensioned off long ago? It's time to hit the road.

I can't believe that they have once again recalled Mitch Marsh, the proven failure, to the Australian Test cricket side ('Marsh recalled, Stoinis snubbed', Herald 5/2). Marsh succeeds at a state level but in my opinion fails nine times out of ten at a national level. Marcus Stoinis is a better choice in the Australian squad ('Run-leader Stoinis named BBL's player of the season', Herald 5/2).