Busy railway link to be axed

A busy railway link that runs from Watford Junction to Brighton via Gatwick is being withdrawn due to a lack of trains.

The Department for Transport says it needs the West London Line's trains for the Thameslink service during engineering work.

But six London councils oppose the plans for the end of the year. They say there are unused trains that could be employed on the Southern Railway service.

Figures to be released this month by London TravelWatch are expected to show a 25 per cent rise in weekday demand, with 2.5 million people a year using it. Daniel Moylan, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, said: "It is astonishing the Government prefers to sacrifice a service rather than modifying a handful of locomotives lying idle."