The return of international trains to an “empty and forgotten” station could boost the south east’s economy by about half a billion a year, new research shows.
Eurostar services through Ashford and Ebbsfleet were suspended in March 2020 during the first Covid lockdown, and have not returned since.
But now a report by Good Growth Foundation (GGF), released today, states running services to the continent from Ashford International again “could inject £534 million a year into the visitor economy in the south east – up to £2.7 billion over five years”.
The think tank – formed by former Labour parliamentary candidate Praful Nargund – is calling on the government to support reopening the station.
It says doing so would increase tourism in the area by an estimated 500,000 visitors a year – a move GGF states would “boost footfall for hotels, restaurants and local businesses”.
And it says that £80 million worth of infrastructure for handling continent-bound trains in the town has been “rendered useless” by services no longer running.
Additionally, it states Eurostar services stopping at Ashford again would cut return journey times to Brussels from about six hours to about three, and would shave off about two hours from the average journey to Paris by rail.
Mr Nargund says he cannot understand why the international side of Ashford station is “lying empty and forgotten”.
“The government should signal its support for this project, which would generate billions for the south east,” he said.
“This is a ready-made opportunity to bring vibrancy and growth back to towns and coastal communities that have been left behind for too long.”
GGF has focused exclusively on the economics of running European services from Ashford International.
Kent’s other international station, at Ebbsfleet, is much closer to London, where international services still depart from.
In recent years, the Bring Back Euro Trains campaign group has lobbied, alongside Ashford Borough Council (ABC) and others, to restore international services to the town.
Last year, a petition of almost 700 Kent businesses found 99% supported the reinstatement of international trains in Ashford.
The route to Europe from Britain had been run by Eurostar since 1994, and from Ashford since 1996.
For this whole period, Eurostar has been the only operator running the route through the Channel Tunnel.
However, over the past five years with no services from Ashford, there has been talk of other firms coming onto the route.
Both Gemini Trains and the Virgin Group have expressed an interest in breaking Eurostar’s monopoly and running services to Europe – which would stop at Ebbsfleet and Ashford.
“It would benefit the whole region, not just Ashford…”
Cllr Noel Ovenden (Ashford Independents), leader of ABC, said the international station is currently a “ghost town”.
“It’s always seemed like madness that we have an international station but people have to go up to London and back through Ashford again to get to the continent,” he said.
“It needs to open again, it’s a huge asset to the town and it was a very costly one – it cost £80m to build the station in the first place.
“We are the gateway to Europe and one of those gates has been firmly closed for the last five years.”
Ashford MP Sojan Joseph agreed, saying restarting international services “would benefit the whole region, not just Ashford”.
In a statement, Eurostar, which has set a target to carry 30 million passengers annually by 2030, said it will “review its strategy network in 2026”.
“We remain focused on optimising services and infrastructure to reach our 30 million passenger goal,” a spokesman said.
“Our Kent stations will remain closed, with a review in 2026, as we prioritise capacity at our core locations.
“We recognise the importance of these stations to local communities and continue to engage with stakeholders, including ABC, Kent County Council, and the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership.”
Eurostar said it will “assess the impact” of new EU border checks – called Entry/Exit System (EES) – when they are introduced in October.
“The upcoming EES adds processing requirements, requiring us to concentrate border police resources at St Pancras International,” the spokesman added.
“Reopening these stations would require significant investment, including in border infrastructure, where we have already invested €10 million for EES.
“While these stations are not part of Eurostar’s current model, future operators may reassess their role. We will review our network strategy in 2026.”
