A railway line could be reopened more than 40 years after it was closed after Government ministers intervened.

With more and more people commuting from Sussex to London on the trains, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has asked Network Rail to look at reopening the Lewes and Uckfield route.

It comes after years of campaigning by politicians and locals who believe the move will ease congestion on the Brighton to London mainline.

But, even if the new study suggests it is viable, the Government said it will not be able to allocate money towards the project until after 2019.

Mr McLoughlin told The Argus: “We’re seeing renewed investment in railways across the country. It’s only right that we look at where the pressures on the current service are.

“I do not know what the total price of the scheme will be. That’s one of the questions we’re asking Network Rail to look at.”

The Secretary of State made the announcement during a visit to Lewes station yesterday afternoon.

When asked if he was the “anti-Dr Beeching”, after the man responsible for closing lines across the country in the 1960s, Mr McLoughlin said: “Things move on and times move on.”

Government officials said the study would be considered when planning the future expansion of railways.

But a decision will not form part of the current Rail Investment Strategy, which expires in 2019.

The reopening of the line, which was shut in 1969, would fall short of the full BML2 campaign, which advocates creating a direct line from Brighton via Falmer and Uckfield to the capital.

Lewes MP Norman Baker, who is also a transport minister, said: “We have the most pro-railway government we have had for decades. “There has been strong support from the local community for the line to be reopened and this is the first time we have had a government looking at it."

Richard Eccles, Network Rail director of network strategy and planning said the line between London and Brighton was one of the busiest routes in the country and it was right to look at a wide variety of options which may provide extra capacity in future.