Commuters are looking increasingly likely to lose out in a reorganisation of trains between Brighton to London after it emerged that plans to scrap the non-stop Gatwick Express service were to be shelved.

Reports surfaced yesterday suggesting the Government was set to perform a u-turn on a proposal to axe the airport service in favour of other passengers.

The Department for Transport refused to comment on the revelation, saying only that an official announcement was due soon.

The move is part of a review of trains between Brighton and London launched to solve overcrowding on commuter services.

The now-defunct Strategic Rail Authority started consulting on the issue in 2004 but the plans have been hit by a series of delays.

Trains running from Brighton to London carry 25 per cent more passengers between East Croydon and London than they should.

Gatwick Express trains, on the other hand, are on average only 43 per cent full at peak times.

Four options were drawn up to solve the problem, including scrapping the Gatwick Express, making minor changes to the airport trains, joining carriages from the south coast at Gatwick or running fewer non-stop airport links at peak times.

Although no decision has been made, former transport minister Derek Twigg said last February that Gatwick services would have to stop at stations between London and the airport to pick up other passengers using the route.

This would have freed up 1,280 extra seats for peak-time services from Sussex to the capital.

Passenger groups urged the Government to persevere with plans to scrap the route while many top businessmen, including Virgin's Sir Richard Branson, campaigned to have the link preserved.

Reports yesterday claimed the Government was set to backtrack, opting instead to safeguard dedicated space for air passengers.

This suggests the third option, which will see carriages from the south coast connected to Gatwick Express trains at the airport, may be declared the winner.

The decision to maintain a non-stop airport link could have been swayed by proposals to add an extra platform at Gatwick's railway station.

Sharon Hedges, a manager with watchdog Passenger Focus, said: "We are awaiting the decision with interest and some impatience.

"We do not really like to trade off between different groups of passengers but commuters travel these routes day-in day-out and we really think it is time to address this particular problem.

"We really need to see the detail before commenting any further."

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