The prime minister has announced that the government will look into bringing international services back to Ashford railway station.
Andy Burnham said he would ask the transport secretary to explore the possibility of restoring services to the hub in Kent, which were suspended during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
People who wish to travel via train to mainland Europe from south-east England currently need to travel into London and board a Eurostar service from St Pancras International, adding a significant amount of time to journeys. Kent County Council revealed more than 82,000 people had backed a campaign to bring international rail services back to the county.
Helena Dollimore, the Labour MP for Hastings and Rye, said the move would bring a £2.7bn boost to Kent and Sussex and attract more than 500,000 visitors annually.
Dollimore said restoring services to the station was a “no-brainer” because the international terminal was already in place.
There are a number of train operators that are interested in running services through the Channel Tunnel.
Virgin is the first company to announce plans to launch cross-Channel rail services linking London with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam from 2030. The company has said it intends to run up to 20 daily return services through the Channel Tunnel.
A Virgin Group spokesperson said “We recognise the significant public interest in the reintroduction of international services at Ebbsfleet and Ashford in Kent. If these stations are reopened, Virgin will stop in Kent.”
Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994, but the regulator recently approved Virgin Trains’ application to share a depot with the firm. Eurostar confirmed services have not stopped at the station since 2020, adding it had “no plans to resume stops at Kent stations”.
