WHATEVER the outcome of the current battle to prevent the immediate

withdrawal of the sleeper service to Fort William, if the future of the

West Highland railway line itself is to be secured it must be properly

marketed and promoted now to attract users, particularly tourists.

It offers one of the greatest railway journeys in the world and

provides a magnificent opportunity for visitors to Scotland to see some

of the splendour of the West Highlands.

Regrettably, neither ScotRail nor the tourist boards seem prepared to

promote it in the way it deserves, and since its centenary last year the

situation appears to have markedly deteriorated.

In recent years ScotRail has produced an attractive guide and

timetable for the line with a colour picture on the front. The new

timetable for this summer is of the standard ScotRail format; gone are

the colour illustrations and even the name ''West Highland'' on the

front cover.

Not only is the size of the guide reduced, but so is the number of

services with the withdrawal of the Explorer trains. The availability of

reasonably priced, flexible West Highland Rover tickets (which ScotRail

confirms are still available) does not even get a mention.

The tourist boards appear to give virtually no publicity to this line

despite its potential for boosting Scotland's tourist industry. A

strategic plan has recently been produced for Scottish tourism, but the

attention given to transport, and to railways in particular, is pitiful.

In the draft for this plan, circulated as a consultative document in

July 1994, worries were expressed about the future of the railway

network but it was stated: ''The Government, however, has given a

commitment that its plans for railway restructuring will have no adverse

impact of the railway network.''

This statement was dropped from the final version of the plan. An

inquiry to the Scottish Tourist Board as to why it had been omitted

produced a response from the director of planning and development which

stated: ''I am very intrigued at the difference you point out . . . Many

drafting changes were made in the evolution of the final version and I

cannot now remember how the final version of the section on transport

emerged. Certainly I cannot remember any major policy changes being

discussed . . . ''

Instead of defending and promoting railway lines such as the West

Highland and holding the Government to whatever commitment it gave, is

the tourist board colluding with ScotRail in allowing such rail services

to wither away?

Chris and John Harvey,

Tarbet House,

Tarbet,

by Arrochar.