A NEW direct train service between Brighton and Cambridge is further evidence that commuters’ rail misery is behind them, according to the Rail Minister.

There are also hopes the new two-and-a-half-hour link to the east of England will draw more tourists, with the city council considering an advertising push in Cambridge.

Yesterday The Argus joined Rail Minister Jo Johnson on Thameslink’s new Cambridge service.

Asked if the situation for rail passengers had turned a corner, he said: “I’m very hopeful that they have and the recent statistics do suggest that.

“We want to see a continued improvement so that passengers coming in from that part of the country continue to see improved journey quality.”

He said the link to Cambridge, and another spur which goes to Peterborough, showed the result of ten years of hard work and investment.

The new route is served by one of Thameslink’s new Class 700 trains.

The train has fewer seats and tables than its predecessor but wide aisles, power sockets and open-plan carriages with enough room to transport 1,750 people.

The display screens inform passengers of Tube delays, which toilets are in use and which are available, and even which carriages have more, or fewer passengers in them.

For the time being there is only one train a day, which leaves Brighton at 11.30am, but once GTR’s new timetable kicks in, in May, there will be one an hour.

The route runs to Gatwick and then on to London Bridge, before heading up via Finsbury Park to Stevenage and then to stations in and around Cambridge.

Nick Brown, chief operating officer for Govia Thameslink, said: “We’re connecting up Brighton even more with the rest of the rail network, with brand new trains that have been in service for the last year or so.

“We’re going right through the new tunnels near London Bridge, to connect up with East Anglia.

“It’s not just a question of going from Brighton to Cambridge, it’s a question of going from Brighton to East Anglia and everywhere in between.”

The Canal Tunnels were built about ten years ago but have been left unused.

Any train utilising that route would have been delayed by construction work at London Bridge.

But now most of that work has been completed, further and faster routes can be accessed.

He said he thought Brighton’s commuters’ worst days were behind them, adding: “The impact of strikes have been hugely diminished

“The RMT is having a strike on Monday, but our service will run pretty well as normal.

“I think passengers are seeing the benefits of the new trains.”

The Argus did not continue yesterday all the way to Cambridge, but a Govia spokesman said there is growing excitement in the university town about the prospect of day trips to Brighton.

Brighton and Hove Council is now considering a marketing push in the Fens.

Councillor Alan Robins, chairman of the tourism committee, said yesterday: “Cambridge is miles from the sea. This new route means that visiting Brighton will be just as easy as getting to the Norfolk coast.

“We are planning to do more publicity with regional news outlets in the Cambridge area and hope to welcome many new visitors to our city.”

The trip was billed by Govia as a “curtain raiser” in advance of expanded services which will be offered as part of the new timetable, which begins in May.

The operator will bring in new trains, and new routes, creating capacity for approximately 40,000 more passengers to get to London from across the south east in the key 7am to 10am morning timeslot.

This will rise to 60,000 passengers in 2019.

The new routes, all of which will run through London, will include:

Cambridge and Brighton (via Gatwick)

Horsham to Peterborough (via Gatwick)

Littlehampton to Bedford (via Gatwick)

East Grinstead to Bedford

From May Thameslink trains will run from 80 more stations (140 in total) so passengers will no longer have to change if they are travelling to St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars in central London.

The majority of these changes start in May, and will also mean fewer passengers will need to switch to the Tube to complete their journey, saving time on their daily commute.