Grayling to meet campaigners for a second London to Brighton rail link

The transport secretary Chris Grayling will today meet campaigners for a second train line from the capital to the Sussex coast, it is reported.

The meeting with the 'Brighton Mainline 2' project group was obtained by Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby, who believes the project for a new link via Uckfield and Crowborough "could be a long-term solution to resolving some of the problems on the existing line". The meeting comes after consultant WSP Parsons Brickerhoff was asked in 2015 to explore the viability of the BML2 alongside other options to improve capacity.

The Evening Argus in Brighton reported that the report "remains unpublished despite rail minister Paul Maynard revealing in October it had been completed" while The Kent and Sussex Courier said the link, with a loop to Tunbridge Wells, was "one of the options Grayling will be discussing today" and said a DfT spokesperson said the report would "be published in due course".