Ministers urge regulator to open tracks to competitors as campaigners push for Eurostar alternatives at Ashford, Ebbsfleet and Stratford…reports Asian Lite News
Hopes of seeing international trains return to Kent stations left deserted by Eurostar have risen, after the government threw its weight behind new rail operators seeking to restore cross-Channel services.
Since 2020, all stations between London St Pancras and the Channel tunnel – including Ashford International, Ebbsfleet International and London Stratford International – have been closed to high-speed international services. The pandemic, coupled with Eurostar’s financial troubles, saw the operator consolidate routes, abandoning the Kent stops despite significant public investment in the infrastructure. Eurostar, majority-owned by the French state rail company SNCF, has repeatedly argued the stations are unviable.
Now ministers are openly encouraging competition. Rail minister Lord Peter Hendy is expected to tell an audience in Ashford on Friday that he wants to see new players work with councils and businesses in the region to “explore solutions” for restoring international services. “I firmly believe that competition offers the best prospect of international services returning to Kent stations,” he will say. Hendy is also set to welcome recent announcements from several prospective operators that they are looking seriously at running trains through Ashford, Ebbsfleet and Stratford.
Behind the scenes, ministers have been lobbying the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), to secure access for new entrants to crucial facilities currently monopolised by Eurostar. The most contentious site is the Temple Mills depot in east London, a base essential for servicing and operating international high-speed trains. Eurostar insists the depot is full, given its own plans for expansion. Hendy, however, has written formally to the regulator, stressing that the government “strongly welcomes” potential competitors and wants the ORR to weigh carefully the economic and social benefits of reopening Kent’s unused international stations.
The regulator is due to adjudicate next month on whether access rights will be extended. Should permission be granted, it could pave the way for rival services as early as 2026. Among the names in the frame are Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, British start-up Gemini Trains, and a partnership between Italy’s state operator FS Italiane and the Spanish company Evolyn.
Campaigners in Kent have greeted the government’s shift with optimism. Ashford International in particular has long been seen as a lynchpin for the county’s economy, providing the nearest British link to the Channel tunnel and underpinning housing, retail and commercial development across the area.
Helena Dollimore, Labour MP for Hastings and Rye, has been lobbying relentlessly for the station to be reopened. She estimates the cost of upgrading the site with new border controls and EU Entry/Exit System (EES) kiosks would be between £2m and £3.5m. “I used to go to Ashford when I was little to get the train across the Channel,” she said. “We really miss that link with our neighbours – but for our constituents it is also jobs, business, and opportunities.
“It’s a ghost terminal. The British taxpayer spent £80m on it – it’s a no-brainer to get it up and running again because of the benefits it would bring: more jobs, more visitors, more tourism. It’s crazy they have lost that closest European link.”
For many in Kent, the loss of direct services has been more than symbolic. Residents now face lengthy detours into London to board Eurostar trains, adding two to three hours to return trips to Paris or Brussels. A study by the Good Growth Foundation has suggested that reopening Ashford alone could generate up to £2.7bn in economic growth over five years and attract an additional half a million visitors annually.
Eurostar, for its part, remains cautious. A spokesperson confirmed that “our Kent stations will remain closed throughout 2025 and will be reviewed in 2026. We understand that this may be frustrating, and we want to stress that we are closely monitoring the situation.” Company figures show that Ashford and Ebbsfleet together accounted for just 4% of passengers in 2019, with as few as 50 passengers boarding peak services at Ashford.
Yet critics argue that these figures underestimate the wider regional and national benefits of restoring international services. They point to the significant public investment already sunk into the infrastructure – £80m on Ashford alone – and the wider tourism and business connections that have been severed.
For now, the future lies with the regulator. If the ORR decides next month to open the Temple Mills depot to other operators, Kent could once again find itself directly connected to the Continent. After years of frustration, campaigners believe competition may finally succeed where appeals to Eurostar have failed.
Whether Virgin, Gemini or the Italian-Spanish consortium seizes the opportunity, one thing is clear: Kent’s ghost stations could yet be brought back to life.
