The Department for Transport reportedly put the wrong version of its plans for the Gatwick Express on the internet.
According to the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, the plans called for the non-stop service to be axed but it then emerged that the department posted a late draft of its Rail Utilisation Strategy for the London-Brighton line rather than the final version.
References to additional stops between Gatwick and Victoria and plans to hamronise fares were dropped from the final version, the newspaper said.
It means that the government has still to decide whether the dedicated link will remain.
Conservative transport spokesman Chris Grayling was quoted as saying: “This is extraordinary incompetence from the department. It has a duty to be very careful about these things.”
Airlines and Gatwick owner BAA have been lobbying for the Gatwick Express to be retained and news of its withdrawal provoked an angry response from the industry, with many comments posted on the TravelMole website.
Report by Phil Davies
