Thanks for the feedback. I did see the flare but it did not bother me too much.
This question is asked more out of ignorance than "defensiveness": how big a deal is the flare? Is it considered a definite "no-no"? As I said, it does not really bother me, but if it is considered to be a major technical flaw, it is easy enough to get rid of like Russ said.
I'd be interested to know....
William
PS: The light on the right is a bit of both - there was quite a bit of what I thought was "sea spray".
Hope to say it well in english...
I look the railway and than move my eyes to the centre, but I stop at the flare.
So I caught the flare quite immediatly.
I think that I would remove the effect, if possible.
However, I know that it may happen using a wide-angle lens, even with a lens hood on it.