A train would leave Brighton for London every nine minutes under a planned overhaul of rail services.

Planning officers at The South East England Regional Assembly (Seera) found passengers were frustrated with the current service, which was congested and unreliable, and said major changes should be made a priority.

The comments came in response to a Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) consultation on the Brighton Main Line.

The SRA wants operators to massively expand the number and size of trains on the line and have suggested:

Replacing the Gatwick Express with more trains from Victoria to Gatwick and onwards to the coast
More seats for commuters between London and Brighton
Making trains faster and more punctual between London and Brighton by not splitting and joining trains at Haywards Heath
More use of Gatwick Express platforms to increase capacity
An all-day hourly service to Uckfield from London Bridge
Members of Seera's planning committee this week recommended trains should run every nine minutes between the capital and Brighton via Gatwick.

The group supported radical changes in service levels but warned these should not ignore the needs of passengers using Gatwick.

The overhaul must also provide services to key commuter stations between Gatwick and the south coast, such as Burgess Hill.

Seera - made up of councillors, environmental and faith groups and businessmen and women - stated the rail connection between Brighton and London was a key regional rail route in the recently approved Regional Transport Strategy and a priority for investment.

Peak-hour fast trains pulling into London currently have 30 per cent more people on board than they have seats.

Under the plan, peak-hour trains north of Gatwick would have 12 carriages and by abandoning the splitting and joining of trains at Haywards Heath, the SRA hopes to shave up to ten minutes off many journeys.

The number of 28-minute Gatwick Express trains from Victoria each hour would go up from four to six.

Of these, two would carry on to Brighton, one to Bognor, one to Littlehampton, one to Portsmouth and one to Southampton.

The trains would run every ten minutes from Victoria and Gatwick.

Seera spokeswoman Lesley van Dijk said: "The assembly accepts that overall improvements to the services between London and Brighton should take priority over the dedicated Gatwick Express service.

"We could gain a significantly improved train system with more trains per hour from Victoria to Gatwick and onwards to the coastal towns."

Councillor Keith Mitchell, Seera planning committee chairman, said: improvements to the services between London and Brighton should take priority over the Gatwick Express.

He added: "We could gain a significantly improved train system with more trains per hour.

"But the SRA must ensure the users of Gatwick airport are also provided with a service that recognises and provides for their needs, which are distinctive and different to those of commuters."

Seera deputy chairman Don Turner, also responsible for regeneration and economic development on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "We really need to see an improvement in rail links from Victoria to the coast.

"We appreciate the difficulties with congestion on the track and this would be an enormous help to us in Brighton and Hove."