Business leaders have clashed over plans to abolish the Gatwick Express.

Last week we reported how chamber of commerce group Sussex Enterprise had written to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling urging him to halt plans to axe the non-stop rail service to London.

Now it has emerged the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership (BHEP), which advises the city council, has also written to Mr Darling - urging him to do the opposite and proceed with the plans.

In a letter dated last Tuesday, BHEP's executive director Tony Mernagh, at odds with business groups representing Sussex as a whole, described the Gatwick Express as a "luxury we cannot afford".

Under the planned changes the Express, which runs approximately every 15 minutes, would be scrapped and replaced with additional stopping services extending to the South Coast.

The changes were first mooted by the now disbanded Strategic Rail Authority early last year in an effort to relieve congestion on the railways and are backed by train operator Southern.

Mr Mernagh also supports them, arguing overcrowding on the Brighton to London line was having an adverse effect on the city's economy and was compromising passenger safety.

He wrote: "We understand the desire of BAA to have a dedicated Gatwick service but it is often running at 60 per cent capacity and it is our view that this is a luxury we cannot afford when the Brighton service often operates at well over 100 per cent capacity. The Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership and the city council are committed to increasing the number of journeys made by sustainable means of transport but the current overcrowding on rail links to the capital does not make them either an attractive or a safe proposition.

"I would urge you, in the interests of public safety, environmental sustainability and the vitality of the Brighton and Hove economy to agree to the extension of the Gatwick service to Brighton."

Mark Froud, chief executive of Sussex Enterprise, responded: "The needs of air passengers and those of daily commuters to and from London and the South Coast are quite different and should be treated as such.

"In an ideal world an efficient rail service would operate for both types of travellers, which would mean keeping the existing Gatwick Express and improving the service for commuters between London and Brighton.

"Whilst there is obvious concern that commuter trains are overcrowded, simply merging the Gatwick Express service into the general passenger service to Brighton will bring little benefit to anyone.

"Air travellers have specific requirements that must be catered for by a dedicated service which provides ample storage space and reliability. It's inconceivable that an international airport on the scale of Gatwick could lose a vital service necessary to run the airport efficiently."

Mr Mernagh countered: "It is in Brighton and Hove's interest to see Gatwick develop as a business airport and, in that respect, I can see why keeping the Gatwick Express would be ideal.

"But Southern say they have tinkered around with the timetables as much as they can. The only way to reduce congestion now is to make better and smarter use of the existing railway capacity.

"People can still get to Gatwick Airport from London and Brighton and when you have to check in two or three hours before, you have to ask, do you actually need an express service?"

Airport operator BAA has been campaigning for the last twelve months to save the Gatwick Express which has been running since 1984 and is currently franchised to National Express.

It argues scrapping the service would mean "air travellers jostling with commuters" and scupper its plans to increase the number of people using public transport to get to the airport from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005