Ashford International marks 30 years as leaders push for Eurostar return

Ashford International railway station is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and political leaders are using the milestone to renew calls for international services to return.

Opened on January 8, 1996, after an £80 million, 18-month redevelopment, Ashford became the UK’s second Eurostar station. Since March 2020, however, no international trains have stopped there, or at nearby Ebbsfleet, following a decline in passenger numbers during the pandemic.

Despite Eurostar having no current plans to resume services in Kent, campaigners and political figures are pushing to reconnect the county to Paris, Brussels, Disneyland, and the south of France. Last year, Virgin Trains pledged to run cross-Channel services by 2030, conditional on station upgrades estimated at £4 million, while Trenitalia, part of the Italian state rail group FS Italiana, has also confirmed its intention to operate on the line.

The Bring Back Euro Trains campaign has rallied public support, gathering more than 80,000 petition signatures calling for the return of Eurostar services. Research from the Good Growth Foundation think-tank suggests reinstating international services could generate £534 million annually for the south-east visitor economy.

Cllr Noel Ovenden, Leader of Ashford Borough Council, said:

“We are still an international town. We just need to get that over the line, get those barriers down, and get international services running from Ashford again, and bring Europe back into England. We have all of the pieces of the puzzle here in this room that can put Ashford back on the international rail map. What is important about today is that the people are here, the people who can make this happen, and they are now working together. We feel like we are on the cusp of something. The momentum has ramped up, and we can really make this happen.”

He added:

“Someone has described this station as being like Heathrow with one operator, but this could be the international hub for Kent. This could actually be buzzing with that European vibe, with people here for business, with people going on holiday, with people visiting the outlet. Our local economy could benefit so much from this, and so could the economy of Kent, and in doing so, being the gateway to Europe, this could benefit the whole country. This is a nationally important station, and we need to understand that, we need to get behind that, and we need to bring people together to make it happen.”

Sojan Joseph, MP for Ashford, said:

“We made significant progress throughout last year, and we want to keep the momentum going. We want to continue that work until the international station is open and trains stop here. We know this is going to take time. We want to continue the work with the government and make sure that this is happening as soon as possible.”

Image: Google Maps