Help Us Reinstate Kent’s European Train Services
When the pandemic struck, Eurostar train services from London to the continent abruptly stopped calling at Ashford and Ebbsfleet, mothballing state-of-the-art international stations at those places. The stop at Calais-Fréthun was condemned at the same time.
Whilst capital services have resumed, smaller intermediary stops such as in Kent and Calais have not resumed since COVID. This is affecting hundreds of travellers in the south east of England. This comfortable journey over to mainland Europe worked so well for many years that it attracted people to relocate to Kent, only to be cruelly snatched away.
Please Join us in our efforts to bring back European train services to the South East of England. Sign our petition and stay informed via this website.
By signing the petition, you are demonstrating that the demand and sentiment for a Cross-Channel train service remains strong in Kent.
Lost Investment
Ashford and Ebbsfleet have made significant investments to provide the infrastructure for international trains terminals, dedicated platforms, signalling, dedicated parking and road connections. Individuals and Businesses have relocated to the area to take advantage of the easy connections to Europe.
Ashford, in particular, spent £10m on a signalling upgrade to cope with Eurostar’s new fleet of trains just before the pandemic. Literally millions of taxpayers money have been spent on building the infrastructure to enable European trains to stop here. Each day without intercontinental connections represents a sunk cost in that investment at the expense of taxpayers.
Why Kent?
Because Kent-Europe is a prosperous route
On 5th September 2023 our team were invited by Ashford Borough Council to speak at the Joint Transportation Board Meeting which was also attended by a representative of Eurostar. During this meeting Eurostar said that Ashford and Ebbsfleet only represented a faction of the passenger numbers being carried from London to Paris.
What was not considered is that the annual passenger numbers were made up of a reduced service to Kent, so with a full proper service, passenger numbers would likely have been significantly higher. With the infrastructure investment, residents and international businesses moving to Kent and a carefully considered train timetable, we believe there is a strong business case for train operators to service Kent not just in the short term, but even more so in the long term as the connection helps to re-energise the local economy.
Climate Change
The Climate Change Act 2008 requires the government to set legally-binding ‘carbon budgets’ to help reduces carbon emissions. According to Eco Passenger Taking a train to Paris compared to flying would cut carbon footprint by as much as 90%.
We believe increasing the use of railways over air and car travel would help towards achieving this legally binding commitment. With the loss of European train connections to Kent, the additional carbon footprint created by alternative transport routes should be built into the case for bringing back Cross-Channel links to Kent.
Sign the petition, tell your friends and neighbours, and help us Bring Back Euro Trains to Kent.