Rivalry could get Eurostar back to Kent - councillors

Eurostar has not stopped at Ashford or Ebbsfleet since March 2020

Councillors believe potential threats to Eurostar's monopoly on the Channel Tunnel could lead to trains stopping in Kent again.

Tunnel operator GetLink has said it is prepared to offer a subsidy of €50m (£42.5m) to help other companies run trains on the cross-Channel route.

Eurostar said its Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations, which have been closed since March 2020, would remain closed throughout 2024 and 2025.

But Kent County Council (KCC) cabinet member for transport, Neil Baker, said he believed competition to the firm would "encourage a return to our existing stations".

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, Dutch company Heuro and Spain’s Evolyn have expressed interest in competing with Eurostar.

At a meeting of Ashford Borough Council's joint transportation board on Tuesday, Mr Barker said KCC would be “happy to work with any operator” that is willing to use the county’s stations.

He added that he "expected" there to be competition in the next few years, adding that: “It’s almost that the threat of competition will incentivise the existing operator.”

'Realistic threat'

It comes as a petition calling for the return of Eurostar services to Kent has received almost 57,000 signatures since it was launched in March.

Ashford councillor Diccon Spain, who is also a spokesperson for Bring Back Euro Trains, said: “It is reliant I think on a realistic threat from a competitor to see them actually return to Ebbsfleet in Ashford."

But in a statement, Eurostar refused to comment on the potential competition.

It said it would "provide an update" if it changed plans to keep the stations closed in 2024 and 2025.