I write to support plans to replace trains terminating at Gatwick Airport with more through trains to Brighton and the south coast.

Annual standard class season tickets to London cost £2,700 to £3,500 but passengers often have to stand because of overcrowding which, as well as a comfort issue, is a serious safety concern.

Gatwick Airport says Gatwick Express must be kept for the benefit of air travellers with their luggage but large numbers of them don't use the Gatwick Express because it is expensive and only serves one destination.

I have seen foreign guidebooks that advise people to always use other services if their destination is elsewhere in London and not to use the Gatwick Express even if they are going to Victoria as it is so expensive.

Anyone who travels repeatedly to Britain is well aware of the alternative possibilities. They struggle on to already-full trains coming through from Brighton with their luggage, sometimes arousing resentment, as the volume of commuting from the south coast has increased hugely.

To make things worse, ordinary rail passengers are not allowed

to travel on the Gatwick Express even when other trains are late or cancelled but Gatwick Express passengers can use other services at any time.

What is more, when changing at East Croydon, you can see Gatwick Express services always have priority on the track. The sooner this unfair and unsustainable situation is ended the better.

If there is real concern about air travellers and their luggage, let trains stop at Gatwick for two minutes or more as they do at other major stations.

It would be far better to use the limited capacity of the railways to the full and operate a larger number of through services for everyone's benefit.

Some trains can go through Gatwick without stopping as they do now and the time lost on other services will be more than compensated for by the overall improved frequency of services and consequent reduction in overcrowding.

-James Simister, Brighton