Sussex rail users will be able to travel on new high-speed Voyager trains unveiled by Virgin today.
The trains, which reach 125mph, will significantly cut journey times from Brighton to Manchester and Liverpool.
Virgin currently run two services a day out of Brighton to the Midlands and plans to run 14 a day by summer 2003, when it will introduce the Voyager trains.
Virgin trains currently travelling in and out of Brighton have a maximum speed of 90mph and the increase in speed means up to an hour can be cut off journey times.
The current Gatwick to Birmingham train takes 3hr 40min. The Voyagers will cut that to 2hr 30min.
The trains reach high speeds by tilting around bends, although Virgin says those on the Brighton line will not tilt.
Shelley Atlas, chairwoman of the Brighton Line Commuters group, said: "I would be interested to see how 14 extra trains a day would be sharing the timetable we already have and I would be interested to see if it causes more problems for other services."
She said train companies should concentrate on improving the services they have instead of introducing more services.
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