THE Gatwick Express, a dedicated rail service from London Victoria, is to be replaced by a slower stopping train to reduce overcrowding on services to commuter towns near the airport.

The Government believes that the express is taking up too much capacity on the Brighton main line, which carries 32,000 commuters a day. Many Gatwick Express trains run half-empty, even in peak periods, while commuters from Three Bridges, Haywards Heath and other Sussex towns often have to stand all the way to or from London.

But airlines using Gatwick are furious that their passengers will have to fight their way with heavy luggage on to already crowded trains stopping only briefly at the airport. At present, empty trains sit for several minutes at Gatwick station, allowing passengers plenty of time to board.

The express service runs every 15 minutes and takes only 30 minutes to reach Victoria. Journeys on the new service, which is expected to be introduced in June next year, are likely to take up to 55 minutes.

Bob Schumacher, UK director of Continental Airlines, said: “The proposal to do away with a dedicated, non-stop rail service is outrageous. If implemented, it would make Gatwick less attractive as a London gateway and would adversely affect local businesses, commuters and international visitors alike.”

He said that many passengers would switch to cars, adding to congestion on the roads.

Continental fears that it could lose lucrative business passengers to Heathrow, which has a dedicated express service from Paddington that takes only 15minutes.

Southern, the train operator using the line, is proposing to run two services an hour starting from the South Coast and stopping at Gatwick, East Croydon and possibly also Clapham Junction.

Two additional services each hour would start from Gatwick or Three Bridges and call at Horley, Redhill, East Croydon and Clapham Junction.

The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions published a study yesterday showing that the busiest Gatwick Express trains in the morning carry only 220 passengers and had more than 150 empty seats.

Most Southern commuter trains carry more than 700 passengers each into London.

The study also found that passenger numbers were falling on the Gatwick Express because the rise of budget airlines at the airport was attracting more “price-sensitive passengers” who preferred to catch the slower Southern services to Gatwick because they were much cheaper.

A spokesman for the department said: “We want to make sure we get the best use of the line and that means making additional stops and not necessarily starting at Gatwick.”

Last month, Gatwick Express was rated Britain’s top train company by the government-funded National Passenger Survey, with 93 per cent of passengers saying they were satisfied.

ALL CHANGE

24 per cent of air passengers arrived at Gatwick by rail in 2003

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