Thanet Parkway: Rail minister defends new station over low numbers

Current figures show about 320 passengers use Thanet Parkway daily, compared to 2,700 in nearby Ramsgate

The rail minister has defended Kent's newest train station in eight years amid low passenger numbers.

Huw Merriman officially opened Thanet Parkway station between Ramsgate and Minster, Kent, on Friday.

The station, which opened to customers on 31 July, has seen relatively low numbers of passengers using it compared to other high-speed stations nearby.

But Mr Merriman said he expected more people to travel through it as local housing and business plans grow.

A Freedom of Information request (FOI) by Radio Kent found about 131 passengers a day used the multimillion-pound station in its first fortnight.

Passenger numbers have since risen to about 320 per day, according to operator Southeastern, compared to about 2,700 passengers a day who use nearby Ramsgate station.

Huw Merriman said building the station would help grow demand and economic opportunity for Thanet

On Friday, Mr Merriman, who is also MP for Bexhill and Battle in neighbouring East Sussex, said: "When we build extensions to railway lines or new stations, people will come.

"The idea is that once the house-building that this station enables, once the new jobs and the business park here expands, then of course more people [will] use it.

"But, of course, unless you put the infrastructure in place first of all, you won't get all of those economic opportunities."

The station has two 250-metre (820 ft) platforms, offering high speed services to St Pancras International via Ashford International and mainline connections to London terminals.

Kent County Council (KCC) invested £10m in the project in 2010 but in July the authority's cabinet member for finance, Peter Oakford, told BBC Radio Kent that the authority would "probably have made a different decision" regarding the investment today.

Thanet District councillor Karen Constantine told the BBC she thinks the station is "a gigantic waste of money"

Labour councillor Karen Constantine, who sits on KCC and represents Ramsgate on Thanet District Council (TDC), described the station as "a gigantic waste of money".

She told BBC South East Today: "It's in the wrong place.

"Maybe in ten years' time when there is much more housing development maybe then it will find a place and it will be worthwhile, but we're a very long way away from that."

Network Rail says it expects to reach 10,000 passengers using the station in the coming days.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].