Campaigners have reacted angrily to Government claims that a missing rail link does not need to be opened for two decades.

Activists have been lobbying to restore the seven-mile Lewes to Uckfield line, which closed in 1969.

They claim it will boost visitor numbers and the economy and ease congestion on the congested commuter route between Brighton and London.

But they believe the Government may be backing away from the scheme and say it is up to East Sussex County Council to submit proposals.

Answering a recent question on the topic in the House of Lords, Government spokesman Earl Attlee said: “We do not think that that route will need to be opened within the next 20 years.”

The Conservative said: “We all know that at peak periods, the commuter railway lines south of London are all running at peak capacity.

“One difficulty is that we cannot easily increase the capacity to the main line terminals.

“In the case of Uckfield to Lewes, one of the bottlenecks is East Croydon, so even if we increased capacity in that area on the south of the line, you would still encounter the bottleneck at East Croydon, and there is very little we can do about that.

“It is great that there are local initiatives to reopen lines - to make my department think carefully about that - but there has to be a good business case.”

But Labour peer Lord Bassam said he believed it could be brought back open a lot sooner than 20 years, believing it would cost between £100 million and £120 million to become a reality.

He said: “It is a project which could bring back greater rail flexibility, benefit the city and would help with weekend working.”

Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby is also supportive of the idea and met transport minister Theresa Villiers before Christmas to discuss the topic.

Earlier this year Brian Hart, of the Wealden Line Campaign, submitted plans for a tunnel built under Ashcombe, near Lewes, titled the Brighton Mainline Two.

The plans would give two additional routes between London and Brighton, Lewes and the Sussex coast – one via Oxted, the other via Tonbridge.

East Sussex County Council’s transport cabinet member Carl Maynard was unavailable for comment.

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