THE people who run our lives never seem to be possessed of joined-up thinking.

Politicians, town planners and the rest have left us scratching our heads over the years at decisions that veered between incompetent and crazy.

Let's not go near the independence debate - it has yet to leave the playground and perhaps never will.

There's enough nonsense going on in Glasgow, where we only recently got rid of the "bridge to nowhere". There were in fact two bridges, both near Charing Cross, that terminated in mid-air after being half-built in the 1960s.

Then we had the "missing link", the stretch of the M74 that no-one quite got round to building until 2011, more than 40 years behind schedule.

The city is currently facing a backlash over penalising motorists who, for whatever reason, stray into a bus lane.

There is a feeling that, while bad drivers deserve what they get, the current system is an easy way of making a quick buck.

All of which brings us to the railways. The Evening Times revealed this week that Queen Street Station is to close for up to four months for tunnel repairs.

Passengers will get by - they always do in times of disruption. There are alternative train routes to Edinburgh and no doubt the network will cope.

But the news led once again to people questioning the future of the line serving the north of the city, the one that runs from Queen Street through Possilpark and Maryhill to Anniesland.

This is where joined-up thinking is vital. I am not a railway buff but I am a firm believer in every town and community, wherever possible, having its own railway station.

It has always left me bemused that this line ends with a set of buffers at Anniesland.

SO passengers wanting to go from Maryhill or Kelvindale to Exhibition Centre, the East End or Lanarkshire have to change trains.

As it is they have to get off at Anniesland and catch a train coming from Dumbarton or Milngavie.

Only a thin strip of platform separates the two lines at Anniesland and, while I am no expert, a link wouldn't take a massive feat of engineering.

The communities in the north of Glasgow deserve a railway and, if it was a more attractive proposition, it would be better used.

Much has been done to improve the rail network in Scotland. Stations have been opened or re-opened and the Airdrie to Bathgate section has enabled a third direct route between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

So let's not allow the planners to take a step back in time by closing a line. Don't let this route hit the buffers.