MPs called on Eurostar to return international trains to Ashford during a Westminster debate on Tuesday October 14. Trains to Europe last stopped at the station in 2020 with the company offering no real hope of restoring the service any time soon.
Rival operators hoping to enter the lucrative international rail market are coming forward, with an least one - the Italian state run train company - making Ashford a key part of their proposals.
Leading the debate Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore described Ashford International as a ghost station. "The terminal has been completely abandoned. The announcements and signs when people go through the station may still say “international”, but the two international platforms stand completely unused and empty. It was strange to be back in the terminal this summer, with the abandoned check-in desks and the seats wrapped in plastic, but what struck me was that everything is still there—ready to go. It is an absolute no-brainer to get Ashford back into use."
She told MPs it was clear from her meeting with Eurostar managers they had failed to do any kind of serious business assessment of Ashford’s potential and had “a moral responsibility to the areas that it promised to serve. The now abandoned terminal was once a gateway between Britain and Europe, full of promise for investment, tourism and stronger ties with our closest European neighbours. It is now a symbol of decline and neglect, leaving tens of millions of taxpayers’ pounds sitting idle."
Bexhill and Battle MP Dr Kieran Mullan raised the expense and inconvenience of travelling to London faced by local people face trying to use the service. "Train tickets to St Pancras can cost £60 to £100 for a return, depending on the time of day. The quickest route to St Pancras means that passengers have to change trains at Ashford on to the High Speed 1 service. That takes them to St Pancras, where they have to double back on themselves, passing through Ashford once again."
Eurostar trains first stopped at Ashford in 1996. The company's monopoly on the high speed line is due to end with four rail companies proposing to provide new services to Europe said Ashford MP Sojan Joseph. "They include FS Italiane, which confirmed at the weekend that if its bid is successful, it will invest £1 billion in the UK economy—including an innovation hub in Ashford—and will have services calling at the station. We need to seize this excellent opportunity and ensure that Ashford International becomes an international station once again."
FS Italiane is the state run rail company in which runs the 300km an hour Frecciarossa services which link major cities in Italy.
De Leo-Kaufmann from FS confirmed to The Sunday Times that Ashford would be a major part of its £1 billion investment. “A clear portion of it will be dedicated to Ashford because we need to build up our innovation out there,” he said.
Transport Minister Keir Mather confirmed the government's support for reinstating the rail service at Ashford International. "As soon as it is practical for operators to do so. We support the growth of international rail, and we will continue to work constructively with all partners, be they local, national or international, to make that vision a reality."
You can read the full parliamentary debate here.
