In the quiet streets of a Kentish town, the community and local traders are united in their call for the return of Eurostar services after a five-year hiatus, which has left the area feeling rather “depressing”.
The once vibrant Ashford International station now stands as an eerie reminder of pre-pandemic times, with untouched March 2020 magazines gathering dust on its lounge tables.
Eurostar, which ceased its stops at the stations of Ashford, Ebbsfleet, and Stratford during the initial Covid-19 lockdowns, has yet to revive its routes despite mounting pressure from the public and investors. A French entrepreneur who settled in Ashford when it was the “El Dorado” for continental companies laments over £1m in losses due his digital firm’s struggle since the shutdown.
Council leaders point out that the absence of the stations’ service has led to the disappearance of some 30,000 jobs across Kent, while residents miss the convenience of quick Channel hops to Paris or Brussels for afternoon delights, only to return by teatime. Instead, they are now ironically forced to trek to London’s St Pancras International before voyaging past their own dormant station en route to mainland Europe.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, answering Ashford’s Labour MP Sojan Joseph during a Commons session, voiced his support for Eurostar’s return to the neglected Kent stations.
Locals in Ashford have expressed their dissatisfaction with Sir Keir’s remarks, suggesting that the fate of their station should be left to Eurostar. The community is urging the government to exert pressure on the rail service to bring back the stops and help rejuvenate the flagging town.
One lifelong resident, 47-year-old Giles, branded the continued closure of Ashford’s station post-pandemic as ‘crazy’, especially after a £10m investment in signal upgrades in 2018.
“Obviously the Eurostar trains should be back,” Giles asserted. “It was sneaky. Nobody was thinking about it during Covid so they killed it and haven’t brought it back. As soon as lockdown was over, people went, ‘Can we get the Eurostar?’, and it was like, ‘No, it’s not there anymore’.
“It was a good thing for the community. It’s huge. It was better when Eurostar was here. It would bring people into the town. I would love to see somebody else come along and create some competition.
“In this day and age, to spend that amount of money and not use the station… It’s crazy. I think it should be a priority for the Government. I’d jump on the Eurostar tracks to protest if other people did it. It’s kind of criminal.”
Steve Sitton, representing the Green Party and a local entrepreneur, noted that Ashford’s hospitality, hotel, and taxi sectors have been particularly affected by the loss of Eurostar services.
Mr Sitton, brainchild behind the multi-purpose venue Coach Works in Ashford, noted the shrinking amount of European travellers has hit the hotel business hard. “A lot of hotels have seen a downturn in people coming over to go to Europe,” he said, pointing out that this decline also spells trouble for taxi services.
“It has caused issues for the taxi trade as well. A lot of people and businesses moved here for the transport connections. That resource has been taken away and it’s a real, real shame. The station sits there empty and it’s tragic, really,” he added. “The Government keep talking about investing, but we already have the infrastructure here – we’re just not using it. It’s mad to put millions into new projects when we don’t use existing infrastructure. It’s really, really important to get it back.”
Labour Councillor Diccon Spain from Ashford Borough Council (ABC), who echoes this sentiment and supports the Bring Back Euro Trains campaign, thinks there may have been fateful mistakes made with regard to Eurostar ownership. The 58-year-old council spokesperson remarked, reflecting on the sale of a 40 per cent stake in Eurostar by the UK government in 2015: “The Government need to be driving [the reopening of the stations]. We need them to level the playing field with incoming competitors. We have a huge opportunity here for growth.
“Six years since it was last used, the station’s gathering dust. Two platforms at Ashford, two at Ebbsfleet and two at Stratford are ready to be used.
“The Heathrow third runway likely won’t be viable until the 2030s – this is a viable opportunity for growth right now. It’s gutting to have that asset sitting there not being used. It could make a huge difference to the economy and in jobs, in particular. You could more or less immediately relaunch it.”
Cllr Spain even suggested that the Government should consider finding a rival operator of international trains ‘owned by the British people’. “I think [the government] should be thinking about these kinds of things,” he said. “30,000 jobs were lost in Kent when Eurostar pulled out. Whilst it’s great to hear Keir supporting the return to Ashford, the other part – that it’s up to Eurostar – was disappointing.
“I think they should be much more proactive and play hard-ball with Eurostar. If we are serious about growth, it’s right in front of us.”
Local Jillian Roth, who purposefully moved to Kent in 2009 for easy European escapes, reminisced: “The train used to stop here at seven in the morning. We’d go to Paris or Brussels for lunch. I don’t see what the problem is… It was brilliant for Ashford. It’s a real shame it’s gone.”
Jacques Damas, Eurostar’s former chief executive, had previously attributed the halt of Kent services to the pandemic, increased post-Brexit border friction and rising inflation. However, in a recent statement, Eurostar’s current CEO Gwendoline Cazenave suggested that while they may reconsider their stance on the deserted Kent stations in the future, these only catered to a mere four per cent of its passengers before the pandemic.
She stated: “Following our constructive meeting with Kent MPs on the February 3, I would like to reaffirm Eurostar’s commitment to maintaining an open and ongoing dialogue with all relevant stakeholders in Kent and Ashford.
“We value the strong relationships we have with local councils, businesses, and communities in the region and are fully aware of the expectations placed upon us.
“We are prioritising operational efficiency and sustainability in our main stations, ensuring that we can invest in our future and meet the growing demands of European travel.
“It’s important to note that before Covid, and before the merger, passengers boarding and alighting at Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations represented around four per cent of our overall pax volume.
“I would like to reassure our partners in Kent that we will continue to evaluate all options moving forward, and we remain open to engaging with stakeholders as the situation evolves.”