The Government is set to backtrack on proposals to scrap the Gatwick Express, in a move that would safeguard the direct non-stop rail link between London and one of the country's largest airports.

The Department for Transport is expected to announce that it will maintain a service that will keep air passengers separated from commuter traffic on the busy London to Brighton line.

Discussions over the future of the service have been continuing for years, amid concerns that the trains - which run every half hour from Victoria station - use too much of the line's capacity. The now-defunct Strategic Rail Authority launched a consultation on the issue in 2004, with the latest consultation paper released last September.

The most recent consultation on the future of the line proposed dropping the service, as it effectively limits the number of commuter services that can be run at peak times on the London to Brighton line, which already suffers from overcrowding at busy periods.

Studies for the latest consultation found that commuter trains running between East Croydon and London - the final leg of the Brighton to London route - were on average carrying 25 per cent more passengers than they should. Gatwick Express trains were, by comparison, only 43 per cent full on average, during the same period.

The Department for Transport put forward a series of possible options for the future of the Gatwick Express franchise. Those options included forcing air passengers on to commuter trains, some of which would make extra stops between the airport and London. The Government also considered proposals to limit the Gatwick Express service during peak times and an option that would see commuter trains from Brighton attached to Gatwick Express trains at the airport to continue their journey to London.

Airlines expressed concerns that scrapping the service would force air passengers carrying heavy luggage to fight for space on busy trains with commuters. Carriers also raised concerns that scrapping the dedicated service would leave the airport with poor connections for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Government is understood to have opted for a hybrid service that will combine elements of the four options. The service will maintain dedicated space for air passengers, implying that the service will include some services where the train will split at Gatwick to create an airport service and a commuter service. The services will then reconnect later on.

The decision to maintain a non-stop airport link is thought to have gained weight with proposals put forward by BAA, the Gatwick airport operator, to add an extra platform at Gatwick's railway station. One concern with the Gatwick Express service was that it took up precious platform space at the airport once it terminated.

The franchise is currently operated by National Express, however the route has proven loss-making until recently and the amount the operator must pay to the government increases annually for the duration of the franchise.

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