Business leaders have clashed over the Government's decision to axe a non-stop rail service between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria.

The Department of Transport said it had decided to axe the Gatwick Express to give every standard class passengers a seat on rush-hour commuter trains through Sussex.

While insisting that "fast, frequent" trains between Gatwick and London would remain, the Government said they would have to serve other stations in Sussex, too.

The news was welcomed by the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership which had been putting pressure on the Government to ease congestion on the Brighton-London mainline. But other business groups, including Sussex Enterprise and CADIA, have criticised the decision claiming it will harm Gatwick's reputation as a business hub and impact on the wider economy.

Jeremy Taylor, chief executive of CADIA, said it was another "nail in the coffin".

He said: "The impact will not be immediate but what you will gradually see is companies, perhaps those with parents in the US, reviewing their operations and asking 'why are we at Gatwick'?

"If you take away the reasons to be in Gatwick, and a non-stop train to London is a good one, you will see an erosion of its reputation as a business hub and the employment market will go downhill.

"We have to accept that we depend on the airport to a certain extent, it's the reason we have Porsche opening in Burgess Hill, for example, so to axe it makes no sense.

"I understand people on the south coast not wanting to be crammed in like sardines, but Instead of removing the one travel product that works, why not use the Gatwick Express as a model for developments to the London to Coast routes?"

Mark Froud, chief executive of Sussex Enterprise, said: "It seems unbelievable that one of the largest international airports in the world could lose its dedicated rail link.

"With the Olympics beckoning surely this is the time to ensure that the journey between the capital and Gatwick is as easy as possible.

"Why then does the Government support the end of the Gatwick Express as we know it?

"Mixing air travellers, commuters and shoppers all on the same trains will just make the current overcrowding on our railway worse."

Tony Mernagh, executive director of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said he was "very pleased" with the Government's decision to extend the service to the coast.

"If it were possible to have a dedicated line between Gatwick and London and increase capacity on the Brighton mainline that would be great but you and I know that's not going to happen.

"The national rail authority has looked at this and seen that Gatwick Express takes up 30 per cent capacity and decided the best thing to do is to extend the service to other stations.

"I understand Gatwick is a massive economic pull for the area but I honestly don't think people use an airport because of a rail service, they use it because it's convenient."

Tuesday, February 7, 2006