SIR - It has emerged that the firm, Arriva Rail North (ARN), which runs the Northern Rail franchise, received an extra £31 million in taxpayer subsidies on top of the £537 million of taxpayers' money previously declared in Parliament by Rail Minister, Andrew Jones. ARN is owned by German state operator Deutsche-Bahn.

The company's accounts, showing the true amount of £568 in subsidies, were released in the same week but, significantly, days after passengers suffered a 3.1 per cent fares' increase. This also comes during the RMT union's ongoing strike action over the company's determination to operate driver-only trains. ARN's stance appears to put profit before passenger safety. But, surely the recent fatal stabbing of a man on a train in Surrey shows this change would not be wise and could possibly be very dangerous.

David Hornsby, West View Avenue, Wrose